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MARY  POLK  BRANCH. 

Nee  Mary  Jones  Polk,   Tennessee. 


MEMOIRS 

OF  A  SOUTHERN  WOMAN 

"  WITHIN  THE  LINES  " 
AND 

A  GENEALOGICAL  RECORD 


~Kotj 


By  Mary  Polk  Branch 


THE  JOSEPH  G.  BRANCH  PUBLISHING  CO. 

Publishers,  Chicago 


Copyright,  1912, 

by 

Joseph  G.  Branch. 


FOREWORD. 

THIS  little  book  is  written  for  my  children 
and  the  descendants  of  those  whose  lives  are 
herein  chronicled. 

From  its  perusal  may  they  learn  still  more 
to  reverence  the  memory  of  their  forefathers, 
and  to  prize  the  heritage  left  by  them  of  noble 
and  honorable  lives. 

To  this  record  I  have  added  my  memories  of 
the  home  of  my  youth,  under  Southern  skies. 
Then  later  the  experiences  of  a  Southern  woman 
during  the  Civil  War,  ' '  within  the  lines. ' ' 

This  long  retrospect  of  mine,  a  retrospect  of 
eighty  years,  portrays  faithfully  life  in  the  South 
as  it  was  in  ante-bellum  times,  and  afterward 
in  her  mourning  vestments,  the  beautiful,  heroic 
South. 

I  write  with  a  loving  hand  as  I  pay  this  trib- 
ute to  the  past. 

Mary  Polk  Branch. 

December,  1911. 


IA 


MEMOIRS 

OF  A  SOUTHERN  WOMAN 
CHAPTER  I. 

IN   ANTE-BELLUM    DAYS. 

My  father,  Dr.  Win.  Julius  Polk,  was  married 
to  my  mother,  Mary  Rebecca  Long,  at  Mt.  Gal- 
lant, Halifax  County,  North  Carolina,  in  1814. 

Mt.  Gallant  was  an  estate,  inherited  by  my 
mother,  from  her  grandfather,  Gen.  Allen  Jones. 
In  1828  they  moved  from  North  Carolina  to 
Columbia,  Tennessee,  where  five  brothers  had 
already  preceded  my  father  —  making  their 
homes  on  plantations  near  the  town.  My  father 
was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
and  noted  for  the  purity  and  integrity  of  his 
character  —  his  word  being  considered  ' '  as  good 
as  his  bond." 

He  was  elected  again  and  again  president  of 
the  First  Bank,  in  Columbia,  and  for  years  trus- 
tee of  the  old  St.  Peter's  church. 

My  mother  was  an  able  assistant  in  all  good 
works,  and  the  blameless  lives  of  this  old  couple 
were  marked  by  deeds  of  neighborly  kindness, 
charity  and  hospitality,  for  which  the  South  was 
so  noted  in  ante-bellum  days. 

Their  nearest  neighbor  was  Bishop  Otey,  who 
lived  on  an  adjoining  place,  called  Ravencroft, 
and  as  both  he  and  my  father  had  a  keen  sense 
of  humor,  many  a  good  joke  had  they  at  the 
expense  of  the  other. 


My  mother  and  the  bishop,  both  fine  chess 
players,  usually  ended  the  evening  with  a  hotly 
contested  game  of  chess  —  the  victor  triumphant 
and  the  vanquished  insisting  that  the  battle 
should  be  renewed  at  a  later  day. 

My  mother  was  a  woman  of  beauty  and  unus- 
ual courage.  She  needed  it  as  she  said  farewell 
to  her  three  soldier  sons,  and  bade  them  do  their 
duty.  But  she  had  higher  attributes  than  cour- 
age —  the  charity  which  thinketh  no  evil,  the 
love  which  includes  the  sinning  and  the  sinless, 
recognizing  the  stumbling  blocks  that  beset  our 
path.  All  beautiful  things  appealed  to  her.  flow- 
ers and  poetry.  She  often  recited  verses  that  she 
had  learned  in  her  youth.  She  seemed  to  me  to 
be  a  link  connecting  us  to  a  far-off  period,  bind- 
ing the  present  to  the  past.  The  rare  courtesy 
of  her  manner,  which  told  of  her  gentle  breeding, 
combined  with  a  slight  formality,  which,  while 
very  kindly,  precluded  any  familiarity.  As  I 
have  looked  at  her  lovely  old  face  I  have  thought 
her  the  embodiment  of  all  the  virtues  of  her  race. 
In  her  ninetieth  year  she  joined  the  great  cara- 
van, and  now,  with  the  husband  of  her  youth, 
as  much  of  her  as  could  die  awaits  the  resurrec- 
tion, at  St.  John's  cemetery. 

My  father  first  rented  the  house  owned  by  his 
cousin,  then  Governor  of  Tennessee,  James  K. 
Polk,  afterwards  President  of  the  United  States. 
Then  he  bought  a  home,  which  I  owned  later,  at 
present  the  property  of  Mrs.  Towler.  At  this 
house,  at  the  dinner  table,  was  first  proposed  the 
building  of  the  Columbia  Female  Institute.  Pres- 
ent upon  this  occasion  was  Bishop  Otey  and  my 


uncle,  Leonidas  Polk,  who  was  afterwards  bishop 
of  Louisiana.  The  building  was  partly  finished 
in  1836,  and  I  was  carried  there  by  my  nurse  to 
be  entered  as  a  scholar. 

Preparatory  to  the  coming  of  the  Kev.  F.  G. 
Smith,  who  was  first  principal,  his  assistant 
teacher  taught  the  school  in  a  room  back  of  the 
old  St.  Peter's  church.  The  church  was  the 
second  house  at  the  corner  of  Garden  street  next 
to  the  old  Masonic  hall.  The  lady  whose  portrait 
is  at  the  Institute  was  Mrs.  Shaw,  of  Philadel- 
phia; her  daughter,  a  beautiful  young  woman, 
taught  music.  She  was  engaged  to  be  married 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Odenheimer,  then  pastor  of  St. 
Peter's  church  on  Second  street,  in  Philadelphia; 
afterwards  he  became  Bishop  Odenheimer,  of 
New  Jersey. 

An  event  of  those  early  days  was  a  reception 
on  the  Institute  grounds  to  President  Andrew 
Jackson.  He  was  on  his  way  to  visit  his  niece, 
Mrs.  Lucias  Polk,  at  "Hamilton  Place,"  accom- 
panied by  Paulding,  the  novelist.  I  do  not  know 
why  he  should  have  selected  Paulding  as  a  com- 
panion, as  Paulding  was  not  a  politician.  On  the 
important  occasion  two  little  girls  were  chosen 
to  present  bouquets  to  the  distinguished  visitors. 
Accordingly,  little  Kittie  Puryear,  and  I,  in  our 
best  white  frocks,  and  with  our  hair  curled,  pre- 
sented them.  One  bouquet  was  given  to  General 
Jackson,  mine  to  Paulding,  who  sent  me  a  little 
poem  in  response.     This  was,  I  think,  in  1840. 

Two  years  later  my  cousin,  Sarah  Jackson 
Polk,  and  I  were  sent  to  a  French  school  in  New 
York  — Madame  Canda's  —  and  afterwards  to  a 


10 

school  in  Philadelphia.  This  cousin,  who  married 
my  mother's  nephew,  Kobin  ap  C.  Jones,  was  one 
of  the  loveliest  characters  I  have  ever  known,  and 
the  dearest  friend  of  my  life.  We  went  to  Nash- 
ville on  our  way  to  Philadelphia,  in  our  carriages, 
dining  at  Cartright's,  near  Springhill;  stayed 
all  night  at  a  place  a  mile  from  Franklin,  and 
next  morning  proceeded  to  Nashville,  a  distance 
of  forty  miles  which  now  takes  three  hours  to 
travel.  There  we  took  passage  on  a  small  stern- 
wheel  boat  —  there  was  no  stateroom,  and  we 
slept  in  a  large  ladies'  cabin  with  berths  piled 
one  above  another.  Our  party  was  composed  of 
my  uncle,  Lucias  Polk,  his  daughter  (my  cousin 
Sarah),  Miss  Dorothy  Dix  and  myself. 

Miss  Dix,  the  noted  philanthropist,  had  known 
my  uncle  in  Nashville,  where  he  occupied  some 
public  position,  in  the  legislature,  I  think.  Her 
visit  to  Nashville  was  to  petition  the  legislature 
to  build  an  asylum  for  the  insane.  She  had  vis- 
ited every  State  for  that  purpose,  traveling 
alone,  yet,  she  said,  had  never  met  with  the 
slightest  discourtesy.  She  was  from  Boston, 
and  had  been  engaged  to  be  married,  and  her 
lover  became  insane.  She  visited  him,  found 
him  in  a  cell  with  a  rock  floor ;  not  a  comfort ; 
treated  as  though  he  were  a  criminal.  She  then 
began  the  crusade  to  which  she  devoted  her  life, 
and  through  her  instrumentality  asylums  were 
built  in  many  cities  where  before  the  insane  had 
been  confined  in  jails.  I  think  through  her 
efforts  the  asylum  in  Nashville  was  founded. 
This  was  about  1847. 

She    was    charming    in    appearance,    and    her 


11 

sweet  voice  had  a  soothing  effect  upon  maniacs. 
She  often  sang  to  them. 

In  Philadelphia  we  were  invited  to  the  homes 
Of  many  of  her  friends,  and  introduced  to  some 
celebrities  through  her  kindness,  among  others, 
Doctor  Hare,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  dancing 
with  Weir  Mitchell  at  his  father's  house. 

After  the  return  of  my  cousin  and  myself  to 
Tennessee  our  lives  were  like  most  Southern  girls 
Of  that  period.  Wealthy  Southerners  usually 
resided  on  their  plantations,  and  visited  friends 
in  their  carriages,  many  miles  apart,  staying  two 
or  three  days.  Some  of  these  carriages  were  very 
handsome,  and  drawn  by  four  horses,  as  were 
those  of  my  uncles,  George  and  Andrew. 

The  Old  Southern  Mammy. 

In  the  "quarters, "  as  the  negro  cabins  were 
called,  there  was  usually  a  band,  which  played  at 
night  for  the  "white  folks"  to  dance.  "Old 
Master"  always  led  off  in  the  "Virginia  Reel." 
Negroes  are  always  fond  of  music,  and  as  they 
would  play  "Jim  Crack  Corn,  I  Don't  Care,"  or 
"Run,  Nigger  Run,"  or  "The  Patrolers  Will 
Catch  You, ' '  or  some  other  especial  favorite,  they 
would  become  wildly  excited  and  beat  the  tam- 
bourines over  their  heads. 

Our  nurses  we  always  called  "Mammy,"  and 
it  was  not  considered  good  manners  to  address 
any  old  negro  man  or  woman  otherwise  than  as 
"uncle"  or  "aunt,"  adding  the  name  whatever 
that  might  be  —  the  surname  was  always  the 
master's.  We  were  taught  to  treat  them  with 
respect. 


12 

There  was  such  a  kindly  feeling  on  both  sides 
between  the  owners  and  their  slaves  —  inherited 
kindly  feelings.  How  could  it  be  otherwise? 
Many  were  descendants  of  those  who  had  served 
in  the  same  family  for  generations — for  instance, 
the  nurse  who  nursed  my  children  was  the 
daughter  of  my  nurse,  and  her  grandmother  had 
nursed  my  mother.  My  maid,  Virginia  (I  can 
not  recall  the  time  when  she  was  not  my  maid) 
was  a  very  handsome  young  mulatto  to  whom  I 
was  especially  attached.  When  she  was  married 
in  her  white  dress  and  long  veil  flowing  to  her 
feet,  the  ceremony  was  performed  in  our  back 
parlor,  and  Bishop  Otey,  the  first  bishop  of 
Tennessee,  officiated. 

How  great  the  pride  the  negroes  felt  in  the 
wealth  and  importance  of  their  owners,  and 
interest  indeed  in  all  of  their  affairs,  amusingly 
so,  sometimes !  I  recall  an  old  woman,  coal 
black,  a  red  bandanna  handkerchief  tied  over  her 
kinky  locks,  and  great  dignity  of  manner,  she 
said  to  me:  "Young  missis  should  marry  her 
cousin,  Marse  Tom.  and  keep  our  family  likeness 
in  our  family." 

Our  Social  Life. 

Indeed,  ours  was  a  gay  and  free-from-care  life. 
I  can  recall  delightful  summers  at  Old  Point 
Comfort,  and  the  Greenbrier  White,  in  Vir- 
ginia —  winters  in  which  I  journeyed  from  my 
father's  plantation,  near  Helena,  Arkansas,  to 
New  Orleans. 

There  were  palatial  boats  on  the  Mississippi 
river  then,  for  there  was  no  other  way  to  reach 


13 

New  Orleans.  At  each  landing',  often  at  night, 
lighted  by  the  pine  torches  on  the  bank,  the 
roustabouts  would  roll  aboard  the  heavy  bales  of 
cotton,  singing  as  they  crossed  the  gangway  their 
gay  negro  songs,  often  throwing  piles  of  wood 
into  the  roaring  furnace  as  they  raced  with  some 
other  boat,  which  they  were  trying  to  pass,  amid 
shouts  of  triumph,  or  cries  of  defiance  for  the 
rival  firemen. 

At  their  nearest  landing,  planters  would  come 
aboard  with  their  wives  and  daughters  to  do 
their  annual  shopping  in  the  "city,"  and  the 
big  boat  would  plow  its  way  down  the  broad 
river  with  gay  passengers  laughing,  dancing, 
singing,  and  many  a  love  tale,  told  upon  the 
guards  until  it  rounded  at  the  dock  of  delightful 
New  Orleans  —  the  city  of  camelias,  cape  jas- 
mines and  violets. 

But  sailing  down  the  broad  Mississippi  was 
not  always  an  unalloyed  pleasure,  sometimes 
there  were  terrible  experiences. 

I  recall  how  my  bright  and  beautiful  cousin, 
Mary  Brown  Polk,  and  I  started  from  Nashville 
on  "The  America,"  for  New  Orleans. 

After  an  evening  of  dancing  and  cards,  we 
retired  to  our  staterooms.  It  was  quite  late, 
and  most  of  the  passengers,  including  our 
chaperones,  had  already  sought  their  berths. 

All  at  once  there  was  a  cry  of  "Fire!"  and 
looking  out  we  saw  a  man  dashing  down  the 
cabin,  while  the  carpet  rose  beneath  his  feet 
from  the  gusts  of  March  wind,  while  he  cried  to 
the  sleeping  passengers  :    ' '  Fire  ! ' ' 

Hand  in  hand,  my  cousin  and  I  ran  to  the 


14 

deck.  Around  us  women  were  shrieking  wildly, 
in  every  stage  of  undress.  Men  were  getting 
from  their  trunks  money  and  valuables,  for  the 
boat- seemed  doomed. 

The  angry  river,  lashed  by  the  wind,  bore 
upon  its  troubled  surface  bales  of  burning  cot- 
ton, which  burst  as  they  were  thrown  into  the 
water,  and  floated  off  like  little  boats  afire, 
lighting  the  dark  and  threatening  river.  The 
pilot  was  ordered  to  land,  threatened  and  im- 
plored, but  he  was  obdurate.  He  kept  the  boat 
to  the  middle  of  the  stream.  He  said:  "The 
river  has  overflowed  its  banks  from  the  heavy 
rains,  and  the  boat  would  be  burned  before  we 
could  reach  the  landing."  He  turned  the  boat 
so  the  wind  swept  through  the  deck,  carrying 
the  flames  far  from  the  guards,  which  were  cov- 
ered with  wet  blankets,  so  to  the  strong  winds 
we  owed  our  salvation. 

When  the  morning  came,  lovely  and  calm,  as 
if  to  compensate  for  the  terrors  of  the  night,  we 
floated  on  our  way  to  New  Orleans,  the  beautiful 
metropolis  of  the  South. 

At  Greenville,  Mississippi,  a  large  party  came 
board,  of  young  planters  paying  their  an- 
nual visit  to  their  commission  merchants,  or 
with  their  sisters  and  sweethearts,  going  to  en- 
joy the  gaieties  of  the  city. 

Formerly  all  families  of  any  prominence  in 
the  South  knew  of  each  other,  so  we  soon  formed 
one  party,  and  they  added  much  to  our  enjoy- 
ment. 


15 


Some  Famous  Beauties. 

Patti  was  then  on  her  first  visit  to  New  Or- 
leans. She  was  very  young,  and  accompanied 
by  her  sister,  Amalia  Patti,  whose  husband, 
Strakosch,  played  their  accompaniments  for 
them.  I  remember  how  she  pouted  at  some  little 
thing  that  did  not  please  her. 

The  most  beautiful  assemblage  of  women  I 
have  ever  seen  I  then  saw.  There  was  Madame 
Yznaga ;  I  had  known  her  as  a  schoolmate  as 
Ellen  Clement.  Her  husband  was  a  Cuban 
planter,  and  she  owned  plantations  on  the  Yazoo 
River,  which  had  taken  her  South.  Her  sym- 
pathies were  strongly  Southern,  and  I  heard  of 
her  playing  the  banjo  and  singing  Dixie  songs 
when  abroad  during  the  war.  She  was  the 
mother  of  the  Duchess  of  Manchester,  and  grand- 
mother of  the  young  Duke,  who  married  Miss 
Zimmerman,  of  Cincinnati. 

Among  the  beauties  was  Miss  Sallie  Ward,  of 
Louisville,  with  the  soft  warm  coloring  and  blue 
eyes  which  Kentuckians  often  inherit  from  their 
Virginia  ancestry. 

Then  the  Tennesseans,  a  very  different  type, 
with  clearly  cut,  regular  features,  brunettes,  and 
slight,  graceful  forms,  brilliant  eyes,  but  not 
with  the  languor  which  characterized  the  Creoles. 

While  admiring  them,  a  gentleman  said:  "No 
one  here  compares  with  Madame  Bienvenu," 
and  looking  where  I  was  directed  I  certainly  saw 
a  beautiful  woman.  I  was  told  she  was  sixty, 
but  it  was  beyond  belief,  although  upon  her 
shapely  head  were   piled  puffs  of  snowy   hair, 


16 

Her  large,  velvety  eyes  had  a  lovely  expression, 
her  creamy-white  skin  with  but  little  color,  but 
her  lips  were  crimson.  Her  neck  and  arms 
showed  to  advantage  in  the  black  velvet  gown 
by  contrast,  and  a  single  white  camelia  she  wore 
as  a  bouquet  de  corsage.  I  admired  her  en- 
thusiastically. 

The  next  summer  I  went  to  the  "Greenbrier 
White,"  in  Virginia,  with  my  uncle,  Andrew 
Polk,  his  wife  and  daughter,  then  a  child, 
Antoinette  Polk,  afterward  the  Baronne  de 
Charette.  There  could  not  have  been  a  more 
delightful  place.  Brilliant  belles  from  all  over 
the  South  —  gay  cavaliers,  chivalric  and  cour- 
teous. I  recall  my  saying :  ' '  There  is  nothing 
more  I  wish  for  on  earth ;  I  am  perfectly 
happy. ' ' 

CHAPTER  II. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  November  29,  1859, 
that  Col.  Joseph  Branch  and  I  were  married  at 
"Buena  Vista,"  my  father's,  afterwards  my, 
home,  at  Columbia,  Tennessee.  Colonel  Branch 
was  finely  educated,  benevolent  and  honorable, 
and  I  may  be  excused  for  saying,  handsome, 
though  I  have  now  no  photograph  of  him. 

Every  advantage  had  been  given  him  by  his 
uncle,  Governor  Branch,  of  Florida,  his  guardian, 
who  was  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  Jackson. 
First  he  was  sent  to  Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina ; 
afterwards  to  Princeton,  where  he  graduated  as 
valedictorian,  about  1835,  in  a  warm  contest  be- 
tween a  Northern  and  Southern  champion.    His 


17 

brother  Laurence  was  salutatorian,  afterwards 
Congressman  for  many  years  from  North  Caro- 
lina, and  in  the  war  brigadier-general.  He  was 
killed  at  Sharpsburg.  The  two  brothers,  after 
their  matriculation,  went  to  their  uncle's  home, 
"Live  Oak,''  in  Tallahassee,  and  practiced  law 
together. 

Colonel  Branch  was  very  successful;  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature  at  twenty-one,  and  presi- 
dent of  a  bank,  when  he  married  his  first  wife, 
Annie  Pillow  Martin,  amiable  and  vivacious.  She 
died  five  years  after  her  marriage,  leaving  two 
sons,  George  Martin  and  Henry. 

Colonel  Branch  then  left  Florida  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  his  father-in-law,  and  their 
plantations  were  in  the  name  of  Martin  and 
Branch.  There  were  two  plantations,  seven  miles 
long,  in  Desha  and  Arkansas  Counties,  Arkan- 
sas —  the  Davis  and  Dayton  plantations.  The 
Davis  half-way  encircled  the  lake,  reflecting  the 
white  cabins  and  green  trees  of  the  "quarters" 
in  the  water.  It  was  laid  out  in  regular  rows  of 
houses  with  streets  between,  two  hospitals — one 
for  the  men,  one  for  the  women  —  a  nursery  for 
the  children,  and  two  old  women  to  take  charge 
of  them. 

In  approaching  the  place  there  was  first  a 
cotton  field  of  one  thousand  acres,  level  as  the 
floor,  and  at  regular  intervals  sheds  with  light- 
ning-rods attached  in  case  of  storms,  and  at  each 
shed  a  cistern.  A  field  of  cotton  would  be  one 
day  white,  the  next  day  the  blooms  changing  to 
pink,  and  presenting  a  beautiful  appearance. 

Upon    these    plantations   were    four   hundred 


IS 

slaves  before  mine  came,  given  me  by  my  father 
from  his  plantation  near  Helena,  Arkansas. 

Upon  my  arrival  as  a  bride  at  the  plantation 
I  found  the  house  servants  drawn  up  in  a  line 
on  the  front  porch  to  greet  me,  and  the  house 
brilliantly  illuminated.  Among  them  was  ' '  Aunt 
Beck,"  a  dignitary  of  great  importance,  my  hus- 
band's nurse  and  then  his  cook.  She  was  a  privi- 
leged character.  Colonel  Branch's  mother  had 
left  the  children  to  the  care  of  this  devoted  nurse 
on  her  deathbed,  and  her  affection  for  them 
was  boundless.  As  Governor  Branch's  cook  in 
Washington,  where  he  was  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  she  had  also  been  their  consoler  in  many 
an  escapade. 

She  had  no  children  of  her  own,  and  my  hus- 
band and  his  brothers,  orphans,  she  considered 
her  own.  They  gave  her  her  freedom  when  they 
were  grown,  but  she  scorned  it  and  said  she 
would  never  leave  "Marse  Joe,"  my  husband. 
Good  and  faithful  woman !  The  bullet  which 
killed  her  favorite  broke  her  heart,  and  she  lived 
but  a  short  time  afterwards. 

CHAPTER  III. 

After  arriving  at  the  plantation,  I  was  startled 
late  one  night  by  the  great  bell  of  the  "quarter" 
tolling.  I  ran  to  the  front  porch,  and  could  see 
big  fires  lighted  on  the  streets  in  the  "quarter," 
and  could  hear  the  women  crying,  ' '  Two  children 
were  lost  in  the  cane  back  of  the  plantation. ' ' 

The  wild  hogs  in  the  canebrake  were  danger- 
ous, and  might  attack  and  even  devour  the  chil- 
dren.    So  a  great  fire,  fed  by  pine  knots,  was 


19 

kept  blazing  all  the  night,  as  a  guide.  The  bells 
on  all  the  plantations  around  took  up  the  alarm, 
and  men  on  horseback  came  dashing  up  to  know 
what  was  the  trouble  on  the  Branch  plantation. 

My  husband  and  men  with  lighted  torches 
went  in  search,  but  the  children  were  not  found 
until  next  morning,  asleep  under  a  cottonwood 
tree. 

Every  day  we  went  out  on  our  horses,  riding 
through  the  canebrakes,  bayous,  down  the  turn 
rows  of  immense  fields  of  cotton,  to  the  ditches 
where  Irish  laborers  were  digging  to  drain  the 
marshes  —  to  the  nurseries,  to  the  hospital  with 
fruit,  or  some  delicacy  for  the  sick. 

In  the  evening  we  entertained  ourselves  with 
the  piano  and  the  library ;  among  the  books  were 
many  religious  ones,  for  Colonel  Branch  was 
pious,  and  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

An  innocent  and  ideal  life ! 

We  varied  it  in  a  few  months  by  going  to  New 
Orleans  and  from  thence  to  Cuba.  At  Matanzas 
we  had  quite  an  experience.  We  got  on  a  car 
where  the  men  were  evidently  going  to  a  cock 
fight,  each  with  a  cock  under  his  arm.  They  had 
seen  our  names  upon  the  passport,  which  had 
excited  their  suspicion.  Laurence  Branch, 
Colonel  Branch's  brother,  had  introduced  a  bill 
in  Congress  very  obnoxious  to  the  Cubans  —  for 
the  United  States  to  buy  Cuba  for  some  millions, 
and,  suspecting  this  to  be  the  Branch,  our  inter- 
preter, who,  of  course,  spoke  Spanish,  had  great 
trouble  in  keeping  us  from  being  mobbed  by  the 
angry  crowd. 

The  summer  after  my  marriage,  1860,  I  spent 


20 

iii  the  East,  and  until  then  I  had  no  idea  of  the 
feeling  in  the  North  against  the  South.  My  maid 
was  soon  enticed  away  at  Niagara.  From  thence 
we  went  to  the  Continental  Hotel,  in  Philadel- 
phia. The  hotel  was  filled  with  Southerners.  A 
few  evenings  after  our  arrival  a  procession  of  a 
thousand  men,  bearing  torches,  stopped  in  front 
of  the  Continental,  and  were  addressed  from  a 
platform  in  front  of  the  hotel  by  Charles  Frances 
Adams.  I  remember  a  part  of  his  speech  in 
which  he  said:  "The  North  should  be  made  a 
haven  to  the  oppressed  negro  of  the  South, ' '  and 
his  other  remarks  were  to  the  same  purport. 

We  felt  wantonly  insulted,  and  for  the  first 
time  I  had  a  foreboding  for  the  future,  which 
grew  stronger  during  our  visit  to  the  Greenbrier 
White  Sulphur  Springs,  of  Virginia,  soon  after. 
The  ' '  White ' '  was  different  from  what  I  had  ever 
known  it  before.  There  was  the  "German"  in 
the  morning  and  the  ball  at  night,  but  there  was 
a  tone  of  seriousness  underneath  it  all.  The 
young  men,  and  the  old,  could  be  seen  in  groups 
discussing  some  point  that  was  evidently  exciting 
them. 

We  felt  the  gathering  clouds  that  foreboded 
the  coming  storm.  From  White  Sulphur  we 
returned  to  our  home  in  Tennessee.  Everything 
there  seemed  beautifully  peaceful  and  calm. 
Tennessee's  first  vote  against  secession  was  sixty 
thousand,  as  the  old  Whig  party,  which  had  great 
strength  in  Tennessee,  was  opposed  to  it,  but 
when  her  sister  States  seceded,  Tennessee  went 
with  them,  and  her  best  blood  flowed  freely  in  the 
cause. 


21 

Tennessee  was  a  border  State  and  she  and 
Virginia  bore  the  brunt  of  the  war.  It  is  stated 
that  one-fifth  of  the  dead  of  both  armies  was  on 
Tennessee  soil. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Oh,  the  horrors  of  civil  war !  My  mother  was 
a  Spartan  mother,  and  she  said  to  her  four  boys, 
"Go  and  do  your  duty." 

There  was  my  gay  and  handsome  brother, 
Tom,  who  left  his  wife  and  children ;  Lucius, 
whose  name  I  can  not  write  without  a  pang; 
Cadwalader,  and  Rufus. 

Colonel  Branch  was  in  jail  for  a  few  days  in 
Columbia,  Tennessee,  then  exiled  by  General 
Negley  with  the  penalty,  if  ever  caught  in  fed- 
eral lines,  to  be  hung  as  a  spy,  and  property 
confiscated. 

In  the  meantime  my  mother  and  I  were  alone 
at  Buena  Vista.  There  were  five  hundred  sol- 
diers —  a  cavalry  command  —  encamped  about 
the  place,  but  the  officers  were  kind  and  placed 
pickets  at  the  doors  for  our  safety.  Yet,  not- 
withstanding, we  had  nightly  alarms  and  the 
house  often  searched.  I  recall  one  occasion,  as 
my  mother  and  I  were  driving  from  Columbia, 
with  many  contraband  articles,  we  were  stopped 
by  two  pickets,  who  proceeded  to  search  the  car- 
riage . 

As  one  soldier  picked  up  some  trifling  article 
of  my  mother's,  she  exclaimed,  "Would  you 
deprive  me  of  that  small  pleasure?"  The  other 
soldier,  at  the  same  time,  saw  a  pair  of  soldier's 
gauntlets,  I  intended  for  General  Cleburne.    He 


22 

looked  at  me,  saw  the  terror  in  my  face,  a  vision 
before  me  of  Irving  Block,  in  Nashville,  where 
rebel  women  were  confined,  and  then  turning  to 
the  other  soldier  he  winked  at  me  and  said, 
' '  Come  away,  there  is  nothing  there,  let  these 
ladies  go  on." 

Many  letters  and  supplies  and  these  same 
gauntlets  we  carried  to  Florence,  Alabama,  to 
soldiers  there.  Of  course,  we  ran  a  great  risk, 
but  we  relied  upon  our  coachman,  who  was  very 
loyal  to  us,  and  secreted  some  of  the  letters  upon 
his  person. 

A  federal  raid  had  just  taken  place  in  the 
country  through  which  we  passed,  and  houses, 
farms  and  fences  burned,  the  fire  still  smoulder- 
ing where  food  had  been  cooked.  It  became 
dark  and  our  coachman  was  blind  at  night,  and 
the  road  so  covered  with  autumn  leaves  we  lost 
our  way.  I  walked  in  front,  putting  aside  the 
leaves,  to  find  traces  of  the  road,  and  calling  out, 
"Drive  to  the  right,  drive  to  the  left."  At  last 
I  saw  a  fence  and,  following  it  up,  we  came  to 
a  substantial  log  house,  and  were  barely  in  it 
before  a  cavalry  company  came  dashing  up, 
demanding  if  some  of  "Wheeler's  soldiers  were 
not  there."  Fortunately  for  us,  our  host  was  a 
well-known  Union  man,  and  the  house  was  not 
searched. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  few  Union  men  were  occasionally  of  great 
service  to  their  friends  and  relations.  My 
brother-in-law,  Judge  Russel  Houston,  for 
instance,   whose  brother,   Governor  Houston,   of 


23 

Alabama,  and  all  of  his  own  and  his  wife's 
family  were  "secessionists,"  stood  very  high 
among  the  federals  (as  Union  men  of  his  ability 
and  social  prestige  in  the  South  were  very  rare), 
and,  in  consequence,  there  was  a  great  deal  in 
his  power. 

My  sister  was  very  loyal  to  her  husband,  but 
natural  feeling  would  assert  itself.  I  recollect 
standing  with  her  at  a  window,  when  a  cavalry 
company  of  General  Wheeler's,  who  had  been 
burning  bridges  between  Columbia  and  Nashville 
to  prevent  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  came 
dashing  through  the  town,  closely  pursued  by  a 
federal  company.  My  sister,  in  her  excitement, 
clasped  her  hands  and  exclaimed,  "Oh,  if  they 
had  but  wings  to  fly ! " 

But  amidst  this  gloom  there  were  occasional 
flashes  of  sunlight.  When  the  Confederates  were 
in  possession  how  gay  it  was,  and  the  soldiers 
such  toasts. 

I  recall  General  Armstrong's  wedding — -the 
officers  in  full  uniform,  and  wearing  the  yellow 
scarf  of  the  cavalry.  The  beautiful  bride,  a 
great-niece  of  President  Polk's,  a  brunette,  in 
contrast  with  the  blonde  appearance  of  her  hand- 
some husband. 

Then  the  brilliant  ball  at  Ashwood  Hall,  the 
gracious  host  and  hostess,  and  Antoinette,  their 
daughter,  a  young  heroine  of  the  Confederacy, 
who  afterwards  became  the  Baronne  de  Charette. 

She  was  visiting  me  when  I  saw  in  front  of 
my  house,  on  the  Hampshire  pike,  Maj.  Hunter 
Nicholson  dashing  down  the  pike,  pursued  by 
cavalry    in    blue    coats.      I   knew   at   once    that 


24 

Columbia  had  been  taken  possession  of  by 
the  Federals  and  I  called  to  Antoinette  Polk. 
She  came  down  the  steps,  the  gauntlets  in  her 
hand,  and  her  hat  with  its  long  ostrich  plume  in 
the  other,  ran  for  her  horse  in  the  stable,  dashed 
through  the  woods,  to  reach  the  Mount  Pleasant 
pike,  where  Ashwood  Hall,  and  the  homes  of  her 
two  uncles,  each  a  mile  apart,  were  situated. 
They  were  filled  with  soldiers  who  would  be 
taken  by  surprise  and  captured,  unless  she 
reached  them  in  time. 

She  gained  the  gate,  which  opened  upon  the 
pike,  and  as  she  did  so,  she  saw  approaching  her 
three  Federal  soldiers,  fast  riders  thrown  out  to 
capture  prisoners,  and  then  commenced  a  won- 
derful race.  The  horse  was  a  young  thorough- 
bred, and  seemed  to  realize  her  peril.  The  last 
she  saw  of  the  cavalrymen  they  were  digging 
their  spurs  into  their  horses'  sides  with  their 
heads  almost  on  a  level  with  those  of  their 
horses.  She  gained  the  woods  and  was  lost  to 
their  sight.  On  reaching  Ashwood  she  roused 
the  Confederate  soldiers,  and  was  taken  almost 
fainting  from  her  horse;  the  horse's  mouth  cov- 
ered with  blood  and  foam  from  its  bit.  The 
soldiers  picked  up  a  trophy,  her  long  ostrich 
plume,  which  dropped  from  her  hat,  and  return- 
ing showed  it  to  the  colonel,  who  said,  "Why 
did  you  not  shoot  her  in  the  back ' '  ? 

Her  father  was  Capt.  Andrew  Polk,  a  cavalry 
officer,  who  returned  from  the  Kentucky  cam- 
paign a  helpless  invalid,  went  abroad  with  his 
family,  and  died  at  Vevey. 

This   oldest   daughter,   of   whom   I   have   just 


ANTOINETTE  POLK. 

Baronne  de  Charette. 


26 

written,  Antoinette,  married  the  Baron  de  Char- 
ette,  nephew  of  the  Comte  de  Chambord,  and 
colonel  of  the  Pontifical  Zouaves  in  the  Garibaldi 
war. 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  in  Paris,  with 
great  eclat.  Among  the  splendid  gifts  was  an 
aigrette  of  diamonds  from  the  Pope,  a  diamond 
laurel  wreath  from  the  Zouaves,  coronet  from  the 
Princess  de  Berri.  The  mother  of  General  Char- 
ette's  first  wife,  Duchess  de  Fitz- James,  sent  a 
magnificent  present,  and  others,  equally  hand- 
some, were  given. 

In  1884  they  visited  Canada,  where  they  were 
received  with  great  enthusiasm  by  the  Catholics. 
The  public  receptions  in  Quebec  and  Montreal 
were  grand  ovations. 

They  had  but  one  son,  Antoine,  who  was 
recently  married  to  Suzanne  Hennin,  of  Ken- 
tucky. His  title  (having  been  given  an  estate, 
which  carried  the  title  with  it),  is  Marquis  de 
Charette. 

It  was  just  before  this  sortie  of  the  Federals 
into  Columbia,  that  I  met  General  Van  Dorn,  the 
gallant  cavalry  commander,  so  handsome  and 
gay.  It  was  at  a  ball  at  Ashwood  Hall  given  to 
the  officers  that  I  first  met  him.  A  few  weeks 
later  I  attended  his  funeral.  He  was  assassi- 
nated, and  the  procession  passed  to  Rose  Hill 
cemetery,  from  Columbia,  where  he  was  buried. 
Of  course,  the  funeral  was  a  military  one,  and  I 
never  shall  forget  the  solemnity,  the  music,  the 
blare  of  the  trumpets,  the  powerful  black  horse 
that  was  led  riderless,  and  on  each  side  the 
inverted  boots  of  the  late  gallant  officer. 


27 

We  had  about  this  time  an  unexpected  pleas- 
ure. Adelina  Patti  came  to  our  little  town, 
Columbia,  to  visit  her  brother  Carlo,  who  was 
quite  sick,  and  on  a  sick  leave  from  the  regiment 
in  which  he  had  enlisted,  the  "Second  Ten- 
nessee." 

I  had  heard  Patti  some  years  before,  when 
she  was  very  young  —  I  think  about  twelve.  She 
sang  then  at  a  concert  in  New  Orleans.  Stra- 
kosch,  who  had  married  her  older  sister,  accom- 
panied them  on  the  piano. 

On  this  occasion,  in  Columbia,  a  long  narrow 
room  called  "Hamner's  Hall"  was  prepared  for 
her,  as  she  had  consented  to  sing.  During  the 
war  we  had  no  oil  for  our  lamps,  and  considered 
ourselves  very  fortunate  to  have  home-made 
candles.  Accordingly,  the  footlights  were  an 
array  of  tallow  candles,  with  tin  reflectors.  When 
Patti  entered,  and  saw  the  primitive  arrange- 
ments, the  lights,  the  hats  of  an  antiquated  style, 
which  confronted  her,  it  was  beyond  her  to  con- 
trol her  amusement ;  she  hid  her  face  behind  a 
huge  bouquet,  and  shook  with  laughter,  while 
we,  the  audience,  sat  in  indignant  silence. 

Soon  after  this,  "Blind  Tom"  was  in  Nash- 
ville, and  I,  as  secretary  of  the  Hospital  Asso- 
ciation, wrote  to  his  manager,  requesting  that 
he  should  give  a  concert  in  Columbia.  We  were 
trying  in  every  way  to  get  funds  for  the  hospital 
and  this  proved  very  successful.  Two  gentlemen 
gave  us  a  hundred  dollars  apiece. 


28 


CHAPTER  VI. 

How  busy  that  hospital  kept  us !  Knitting', 
making  underwear,  collecting  supplies,  sending 
boxes  to  the  army.  My  mother  was  instrumental 
in  organizing  it,  and  was  president  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  We  not  only  ministered  to  our 
own  wounded  soldiers,  but  to  many  of  the  Fed- 
erals, who  were  taken  prisoners,  had  been 
wounded,  or  were  sick,  and  .brought  to  the  hos- 
pital. 

This  reminds  me  of  an  incident  that  occurred. 
My  two  beautiful  gray  carriage  horses  had  been 
seized  soon  after  we  were  in  Federal  lines,  and  I 
wished  to  regain  possession  of  them,  so  I  asked 
the  services  of  the  provost  marshal,  a  Union  man, 
and  near  neighbor  of  ours,  to  accompany  me  to 
headquarters,  which  he  did. 

The  officer  in  command  asked  me  several  ques- 
tions, and  among  others  about  the  hospital.  I 
replied,  "My  mother  is  president,  and  we  give 
every  care  and  attention  not  only  to  our  own 
soldiers,  but  also  to  the  sick  and  wounded 
'Yankees.'  '  At  this  he  sprang  up  indignantly 
from  his  chair,  and  said,  "Madam,  I  have  seen 
you  but  ten  minutes,  and  during  that  time  you 
have  twice  insulted  me.  I  wish  you  to  under- 
stand I  am  from  Ohio,  and  the  soldiers  also  who 
are  under  my  command.  We  are  not  "Yankees." 
With  this  the  interview  was  at  an  end,  and  there 
were  no  horses  for  me. 


29 


Shiloh 

On  April  6,  1862,  the  battle  of  Shiloh  was 
fought,  gained  the  first  day,  and  lost  the  next 
day. 

A  Union  man  from  Columbia  was  said  to  have 
brought  the  order  from  Grant  to  Buell  to  rein- 
force him. 

So  at  night  sixty  thousand  men  waded  Duck 
river  in  their  forced  march,  and  changed  the 
defeat  of  the  first  day  into  a  victory  the  second 
day.  That  terrible  day !  As  I  lay  upon  my  sick 
bed  I  could  hear  the  tramp  of  the  mighty  host, 
as  they  passed  upon  the  turnpike.  They 
swarmed  over  our  house,  and  only  the  pleading 
of  my  mother  kept  them  out  of  my  sick  room. 
In  my  delirium  I  would  sing  ' '  He  has  fought  his 
last  fight.  He  has  won  his  last  battle";  words 
from  an  old  song,  I  think  called  "Sir  John 
Moore's  Farewell." 

In  that  battle  it  was  said  "every  man  who 
could  bear  arms,  of  the  name  of  Polk,  fought." 

CHAPTER  VII. 

My  brother  Lucius  went  into  the  battle  as  a 
first  lieutenant.  His  regiment,  the  first  Arkan- 
sas, was  cut  to  pieces,  the  captain  of  the  company 
made  a  prisoner,  and  left  with  but  one  officer. 
Lieutenant  Polk  took  command  and  led  the  regi- 
ment for  two  days.  The  next  day  after  the  bat- 
tle he  was  elected  colonel  by  the  men  unanimously 
and  appointed  afterwards. 

Of  that  heroic  brother  what  could  I  not  tell"? 
There  was  never  a  nobler  and  more  magnanimous 


30 

spirit,  united  to  a  tenderer  and  more  merciful 
one  —  to  write  of  him  even  in  the  "so  long  ago" 
sends  a  pang  to  my  heart. 

Lucius  Polk  was  born  in  Salkburtf,  North  Caro- 
lina, July  10,  1833,  the  family  soon  after  moving 
to  Tennessee.  He  enlisted  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Civil  War  in  Arkansas,  where  he  owned 
a  plantation,  and  was  elected  first  lieutenant  in 
Gen.  Pat.  Cleburne's  company,  in  the  regiment 
known  afterwards  as  the  "First  Arkansas." 

Lieutenant  Polk's  first  service  was  with  the 
Arkansas  troops  at  the  capture  of  the  arsenal 
at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas.  His  first  fight  was  at 
Shiloh,  after  which  battle  he  was  promoted 
colonel  of  the  regiment. 

When  the  Confederate  army  fell  back  from 
Corinth,  he  was  ordered  to  cover  the  retreat, 
"if  not  a  man  be  left."  He  defended  the  bridge 
so  gallantly,  that  he  was  complimented  in  Gen- 
eral Cleburne's  report  (official  report). 

He  was  in  the  campaign  in  Kentucky,  under 
Gen.  Kirby  Smith,  and  was  wounded  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Richmond,  and  six  weeks  later  that  of 
Perryville.  Colonel  Polk  was  then  appointed 
brigadier-general,  in  command  of  Cleburne's  old 
brigade. 

He  was  in  the  two  days'  fight  at  Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee,  where  his  uncle,  General  Leonidas 
Polk,  was  in  command  of  one  division  of  the 
army ;  at  Chattanooga,  where  his  brigade  did 
valiant  service,  and  in  all  the  battles  in  the 
retreat  from  Tennessee. 

His  brigade  brought  up  the  rear  in  falling 
back  from  Missionary  Ridge,  General  Cleburne 


GEN.  LUCIUS  E.  POLK. 


32 

in  command  of  the  division,  entrusting  him  with 
the  charge  of  the  rear  guard. 

In  the  ambuscade  which  he  formed,  by  conceal- 
ing his  troops  on  each  side  at  Ringgold's  Gap, 
and  then  ordering  a  sortie,  his  brigade  fought 
most  gallantly,  capturing  two  of  the  enemy's 
flags,  and  he  was  most  highly  complimented  in 
the  official  reports  of  Generals  Johnston  and 
Hardee. 

In  the  fight  near  Hope  Church,  in  Georgia, 
he  was  desperately  wounded  and  crippled  for 
life. 

In  his  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
maugua,  Gen.  Joseph  Johnston  said,  "But  for 
the  valor  of  Gen.  Lucius  Polk's  brigade  we  could 
not  have  carried  the  day." 

General  Polk  did  not  long  survive  the  war, 
and  died  at  his  residence  in  Maury  County. 

Of  him  could  be  said  not  only  "the  bravest  of 
men,  but  the  truest  and  most  loyal." 

His  two  oldest  sons,  Rufus  and  Lucius,  were 
in  the  Cuban  and  Philippine  wars,  and  showed 
themselves  worthy  of  their  parentage. 

The  first,  Rufus,  was  twice  a  Congressman 
from  Pennsylvania  (where  he  had  married),  and 
he  was  prominently  mentioned  for  lieutenant- 
governor  of  Pennsylvania  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-four. 


33 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

My  brother  had  but  one  furlough  —  he  was 
sent  home  after  the  campaign  in  Kentucky.  We 
did  not  even  know  he  was  wounded  (so  difficult 
was  it  to  get  any  intelligence  from  the  army), 
when  one  morning  he  came  limping  into  our 
sitting-room,  the  shadow  of  his  former  self,  his 
head  bound  with  bandages,  and  also  shot  in  the 
foot.     You  can  imagine  how  we  felt ! 

After  this  came  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro, 
the  two  days'  fight  on  the  thirtieth  of  Decem- 
ber and  first  of  January,  1863.  During  the 
progress  of  the  great  battle  which  was  fought 
there,  my  mother  and  I,  and  many  others,  went 
to  the  ' '  Knob, ' '  which  overlooks  Columbia,  and 
with  straining  ears  listened  to  the  thud  of  the 
cannon  forty  miles  distant. 

My  mother  dispatched  in  haste,  Oscar,  a  faith- 
ful servant,  to  ride  across  the  country  to  Mur- 
freesboro with  bandages,  liniments  and  supplies, 
for  her  sons  who  were  in  the  battle. 

The  Confederate  Army  were  encamped  on 
Stone  river  —  General  Hardee  commanding  one 
corps,  and  Gen.  Leonidas  Polk,  "The  Fighting 
Bishop,"  the  other.  I  have  a  plan  of  the  Battle 
of  Murfreesboro  which  I  prize  highly.  It  is  a 
topographic  view  of  the  ground  upon  which  the 
two  armies  were  posted,  drawn  by  Captain  Mor- 
ris, chief  engineer  of  Polk's  Corps,  for  Lieuten- 
ant-General  Polk.     The  original  was  destroyed 


34 

and. I  have  the  duplicate,  sent  by  Captain  Morris 
to  me. 

The  position  of  the  Federal  troops  under  Rose- 
erans  is  given  with  division  commanders  and 
brigades,   as   well  as  that   of   the   Confederates. 

Bragg  commanding,  and  the  two  corps  com- 
manders, Lieutenants-General  Polk  and  Hardee, 
in  command  of  the  right  and  left  wings,  en- 
camped on  Stone  River,  whose  waters  were 
tinged  with  blood  after  the  battle. 

The  cemetery  near  Murfreesboro  is  filled  with 
monuments  to  the  dead  of  both  armies. 

Gen.  Leonidas  Polk's  unique  career  came  to  a 
close  at  a  later  period  at  Pine  Mountain,  near  the 
Kenesaw. 

He  was  born  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  April, 
1806.  He  commenced  his  education  at  Chapel 
Hill,  North  Carolina.  He  received  his  appoint- 
ment as  cadet  to  West  Point  in  1823  —  his  father 
having  been  an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
was  very  desirous  that  his  son  should  also  add  to 
the  military  traditions  of  the  family  —  but, 
influenced  by  the  eloquence  and  devotion  of'  the 
chaplain  at  West  Point,  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  and  studied  for  the  min- 
istry. 

In  Richmond,  Virginia,  he  first  entered  upon 
his  church  duties,  and  after  a  year's  travel 
abroad,  returned  and  made  his  home  in  Middle 
Tennessee  upon  a  tract  given  him  by  his  father. 
In  1838  the  general  convention  made  him  mis- 
sionary bishop  of  the  Southwest,  which  embraced 
Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  Mississippi,  Ala- 
bama, Louisiana  and  Texas. 


LEONIDAS   POLK. 

Bishop  of  Louisiana  and  General  in  the  Confederate  Army. 


36 

Many  amusing'  anecdotes  are  told  of  him  at 
this  period.  He  had  a  great  amount  of  humor, 
and  must  have  enjoyed  them  immensely. 

Once,  while  on  Red  river,  a  planter  wished  his 
son  baptized  by  an  Episcopal  minister,  but  the 
boy  fought  valiantly  against  it,  unless  his  black 
chum,  Jim,  was  also  baptized.  "Well,"  said  the 
bishop,  "Bring  Jim  in,  and  we  will  make  a 
Christian  of  him,  too."  It  seemed  many  small- 
pox cases  were  reported  on  the  plantations,  and  a 
dignified  circle,  invited  to  meet  the  bishop,  were 
discussing  vaccination  when  in  burst  Jim,  wildly 
excited,  "Master,  master,  you  have  Marse  Tom 
baptized  over  again  —  it  never  tuk  that  ar  time ; 
he's  out  yonder  cussin'  the  steers  worse  than 
ever,  an  he  says  he  ain"t  gwine  to  stop  fur 
nobody. ' '  The  ice  melted,  and  the  bishop  turned 
and  said,  ' '  Commentary  on  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tismal regeneration." 

The  following  anecdote  I  have  never  seen  in 
print :  In  going  down  the  Mississippi  river  at 
Natchez,  where  the  boats  would  stop  for  a  short 
time,  there  was  a  lunch-room  near  the  wharf,  the 
proprietor  of  which  was  a  noted  character.  He 
prided  himself  upon  knowing  the  occupation  or 
profession  of  any  man  by  his  appearance,  and 
would  greet  his  guests  accordingly,  announcing 
them  as  they  came  into  the  dining-room  :  ' '  Walk 
in,  doctor,"  "Walk  in,  lawyer." 

On  this  occasion,  as  the  bishop  entered,  he 
called  out  "Walk  in,  judge."  Excuse  me,  said 
the  host,  "I  should  have  said  general."  "No, 
not  general?  Now  I  I- now  I  must  be  right,  walk 
in,  bishop." 


37 

"Why  do  you  give  me  these  titles'?"  said  the 
bishop. 

"Because,"  replied  mine  host,  "I  know  what- 
ever profession  you  follow  you  are  bound  to  be 
at  the  head  of  it." 

Indeed  the  bishop  did  look  the  born  leader. 
Of  majestic  and  very  handsome  appearance,  a 
face  full  of  determination,  yet  softened  by  great 
kindliness  and  good  humor. 

At  one  of  the  conferences,  after  the  battle  of 
Belmont,  and  the  business  of  the  flag  of  truce 
had  been  dispatched,  the  party  adjourned  to 
a  simple  lunch,  provided  by  the  Confederates. 
One  of  the  officers,  the  gallant  Buford  (of  the 
Twenty -seventh  Illinois),  raising  his  glass,  pro- 
posed a  toast  to  General  Washington,  the 
"Father  of  his  country."  General  Polk,  with  a 
merry  twinkle  of  his  eye,  quickly  added,  "And 
the  first  Rebel."  The  Federal  officers  joined 
with  excellent  humor  in  the  laughter  which  fol- 
lowed the  sally,  and  drank  the  amended  toast. 

Never  did  the  bishop  neglect  his  religious  serv- 
ices and  the  morning  prayers.  In  a  meeting  in 
New  Orleans,  on  his  birthday  anniversary,  I  read 
records  of  his  death  prepared  by  Colonel  Hop- 
kins, a  member  of  his  staff  : 

"On  the  morning  of  June  14,  1864,  General 
Polk  received  an  early  message  from  General 
Johnston,  with  request  to  meet  at  Pine  Moun- 
tain to  make  a  reconnoissance  of  the  position  of 
the  enemy.  Morning  prayers  having  been  said 
by  the  general,  as  usual,  and  the  frugal  meal  of 
those  forced  days  of  abstinence  been  disposed  of, 
the     general     mounted    his     well-known     roan, 


38 

'Jerry,'  and  rode  alone,  followed  by  two  of 
his  -staff  and  two  men  of  the  escort.  During 
that  lonely  ride,  contrary  to  his  usual  mien,  the 
general  seemed  dispirited —  possibly  his  thoughts 
were  drifting  to  the  loved  flock  of  his  far-away 
church,  possibly  to  his  plantation  home,  on  the 
bayou,  and  possibly  again  to  the  fast-declining 
fortunes  of  the  Confederacy,  whose  doom  was 
already  foreshadowed.  To  all  appearances  lost 
in  thoughts  of  sadness,  he  led  the  way  to  the 
meeting  place,  where  fate  awaited  him. 

"Arriving  at  Pine  Mountain,  General  Polk 
found  Generals  Hardee,  Johnston  and  Jackson 
(of  the  cavalry)  on  the  ground. 

"The  day  was  ideal,  and  the  stillness  of  death 
was  abroad,  for  both  armies  rested  on  their  arms, 
facing  each  other,  but  ready  at  a  moment's 
notice  to  rend  the  air  with  shot  and  shell. 

"On  this  exposed  position  the  group  of  gen- 
erals had  assembled  —  it  was  evidently  a  council 
of  Avar ;  when  suddenly  a  puff  of  smoke  arose 
from  the  distant  lines,  and  ere  it  had  melted  in 
the  air  a  murmuring  shot  passed  overhead. 
Warned  by  the  artillerymen  of  the  danger  of 
their  position,  the  group  of  generals  sought 
shelter.  Then  came  the  second  shot,  lower,  and 
better  aimed,  when,  looking  back  from  my  place 
of  safety,  I  saw  General  Polk  alone,  on  the  very 
crest  of  the  hill,  with  arms  crossed,  and  looking 
intently  at  his  front. 

"In  an  instant  I  was  at  his  side,  but,  alas  !  too 
late,  for  at  that  very  instant  a  solid  shot  was 
tearing  its  murderous  way,  with  a  hissing  soivid, 
through  his  chest,  carrying  his  heart,  and  shat- 


39 

tering  both  his  arras.  Without  a  groan  his  great 
manly  form,  so  full  of  honor  and  of  love,  tot- 
tered and  fell,  with  his  feet  to  the  foe,  and  his 
face  upturned  to  the  sky  above. 

The  general's  remains  were  taken  to  Marietta, 
Georgia,  from  thence  to  Augusta,  where  they 
now  repose  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  the  crypt 
beneath  the  chancel. 

Shortly  after  this  the  army  fell  back,  pursued 
by  Sherman  on  his  march  to  the  sea. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

On  December  15,  1861,  I  started  for  the  plan- 
tation in  Arkansas  with  my  nurse  and  small 
family  to  see  my  husband. 

Nashville  was  in  Federal  lines,  but  I  had  a 
permit  to  go  to  Memphis,  via  Louisville.  There, 
through  the  influence  of  my  brother-in-law, 
Judge  Russet  Houston,  then  of  Louisville,  whose 
handsome  home  in  Nashville  had  just  been 
burned  to  the  ground  to  build  Fort  Houston,  I 
was  permitted  to  take  with  me  many  contraband 
articles. 

I  had  a  shoe  trunk  rilled  with  sugar  and  medi- 
cines, and  an  overcoat  for  my  husband,  with  to- 
bacco in  the  pockets  to  give  the  provost  marshal 
the  impression  that  I  was  carrying  an  old,  worn 
coat.  These  articles  were  sealed  by  the  provost 
marshal  to  prevent  inspection. 

We  embarked  upon  the  Golden  Eagle,  a  boat 
which  on  the  trip  before  had  carried  negro  sol- 
diers. In  consequence,  we  were  fired  upon  all 
the  way  clown  the  river,  a  flash  from  the  bushes 
on  the  banks  and  a  volley  of  shot.     I  was  in  the 


40 

pilot  house,  and  it  was  the  object  to  disable  the 
pilot  of  our  boat  —  the  shot  flew  thick  and  fast 
around  us.  We  all  fell  upon  the  floor,  and  lay 
trembling  until  the  guerillas  were  out  of  sight. 

At  last  we  arrived  at  Memphis  and  changed 
our  boat  for  the  Commonwealth.  The  captain 
refused  to  take  pay  from  a  Southern  woman, 
until  I  assured  him  I  was  well  supplied  with 
money. 

Next  we  stopped  at  Helena,  where  General 
Buford,  of  Kentucky,  who  was  in  command  and 
noted  for  his  petty  tyranny,  refused  to  let  me 
proceed  farther.  I  pleaded,  and  then  wept,  but 
soon  restrained  my  tears  when  I  noticed  the 
expression  of  his  face. 

I  said,  "I  see,  General,  that  this  gives  you 
pleasure,  but  as  I  hear  that  you  are  a  dear  lover 
of  the  negro  race,  let  me  go  to  the  plantation 
and  take  medicine  for  your  friends  there. ' ' 

He  was  indignant,  and  replied,  "Madam,  my 
refusal  was  in  kindness,  as  I  was  a  West  Pointer 
with  your  Uncle  Leonidas,  but  now  you  return 
to  Memphis  on  the  first  boat  that  lands  here. ' ' 

The  boat  came  in  an  hour.  It  had  lashed  to 
it,  in  tow,  another  steamboat  filled  with  smallpox 
patients,  soldiers  whom  they  were  sending  to 
some  hospital  in  the  North.  The  odor  was  insuf- 
ferable, although  there  were  heavy  tarpaulins 
on  that  side  to  exclude  the  air.  I  was  terrified 
(as  Laurence  was  sick,  and  soon  broke  out  with 
an  eruption  which  proved  to  be  measles),  but 
there  was  no  appeal. 

For  seven  weeks  we  were  compelled  to  remain 
in  Memphis  at  the  Gayosa  Hotel. 


41 

No  one  was  allowed  to  pass  the  lines,  to  go  out 
oi-  to  come  in  Memphis.  I  did  not  know  the  rea- 
son then,  but  knew  afterward  —  Hood's  army 
was  advancing  into  middle  Tennesee. 

At  last,  on  Christmas  day,  we  were  permitted 
to  leave.  I  went  with  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Andrew 
Polk,  to  headquarters  to  ask  a  pass  to  proceed 
down  the  river,  my  second  attempt. 

The  general  was  absent,  but  the  officer. in  com- 
mand very  sternly  refused  to  give  it  to  me,  say- 
ing the  general  had  left  such  orders  in  regard  to 
all  applications.  I  thought  it  hopeless,  and  was 
preparing  sadly  to  leave,  when,  all  at  once,  there 
was  such  a  transformation,  such  a  desire  to 
assist,  such  kindness ! 

My  astonishment  was  great.  My  aunt  was  a 
beautiful  and  charming  woman,  but  that  had  no 
influence  upon  the  officer  at  first.  What  was  the 
magic  ?  All  at  once  a  light  broke  upon  me.  I 
exclaimed:  "I  understand,  you  are  a  Mason, 
you  have  taken  three  degrees,  and  your  father, 
Mr.  Van  Leer,  was  past  grand  master  of  the 
State!" 

She  laughed,  but  she  neither  affirmed  nor  dis- 
claimed. 

CHAPTER  X. 

We  arrived  at  Napoleon,  Arkansas,  which  since 
has  been  swept  away  by  the  ever-encroaching 
river,  on  January  1,  1865.  We  were  met  there 
by  Colonel  Branch,  with  the  carriage.  Our 
meeting  was  joyful,  yet  tinged  with  a  deep 
undercurrent  of  sadness,  as  you  can  realize 
everything    was    at   that    time.      The    battle    of 


42 

Franklin  had  been  fought  and  we  felt  that  the 
Confederacy  was  doomed. 

Colonel  Branch  had  been  ordered  to  make  a 
cotton  crop  —  to  be  gotten  out  as  it  best  could 
be,  to  buy  ammunition  for  the  army.  He  was 
also  ordered  to  supply  the  families  of  fifteen 
soldiers  with  meal.  The  plantation  was  unin- 
jured, and  looked  strangely  peaceful,  but  the 
serenity  was  soon  disturbed. 

On  the  third  day  after  my  arrival  I  was  hav- 
ing a  pleasant  talk  in  my  sitting-room,  with  an 
old  gentleman,  a  neighbor,  when  the  doors  open- 
ing upon  the  front  gallery  were  thrown  simul- 
taneously open,  and  blue-coated  soldiers  swarmed 
into  the  room. 

One  rushed  to  the  old  man,  with  a  canteen  of 
whisky.  ' '  Drink,  I  say ! ' '  and  the  old  man 
drank,  although  he  did  not  know  but  that  it 
might  have  been  poison,  while  the  others  com- 
menced ransacking. 

Eealizing  the  absolute  necessity  of  coolness, 
I  arose,  and  said  to  the  leader,  apparently :  "If 
you  will  control  your  men,  I  will  supply  what 
they  demand,  water,  towels  and  food." 

"They  are  helping  themselves,"  he  said,  as  a 
chicken  flew  past,  followed  by  half  a  dozen  sol- 
diers in  pursuit.  He  looked  at  me,  and  said : 
"I  see  that  you  are  a  woman  of  sense,  so  I  will 
give  you  a  little  advice.  Behave  as  you  are 
doing  now,  and  you  will  have  no  trouble.  Here 
comes  the  captain  now ! ' ' 

Looking  out  I  saw  advancing  down  the  road  an 
officer  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  cavalry.  He 
behaved  with  great  politeness,  and  remarked  that 


43 

at  the  plantation  above  us  (the  Douglas),  "the 
house  had  been  set  on  fire  three  times,  as  the 
ladies  had  been  so  insulting  to  the  soldiers  that 
he  had  found  difficulty  in  controlling  them. ' ' 

They  stayed  two  days,  the  men  encamped 
upon  the  place,  the  officers  in  the  house. 

One  of  them  picked  up  an  album,  and  looking 
at  a  photograph,  said :  ' '  Who  is  this  ? "  I  said  : 
"General  Pillow,  an  uncle  of  Colonel  Branch's 
first  wife." 

"And  this?" 

"That,"  I  said,  "is  General  Leonidas  Polk, 
the  uncle  of  Colonel  Branch's  second  wife. 
This,"  I  went  on  to  say,  as  he  turned  another 
leaf,  "is  General  Lucius  Polk,  my  brother,  and 
this,  General  Laurence  Branch,  killed  at  Sharps- 
burg.  ' ' 

"What  a  nest  of  rebels!"  he  exclaimed,  and 
closed  the  book  in  disgust. 

I  left  soon  after  to  weep  and  wring  my  hands 
in  the  retirement  of  my  room,  and  then  to  appear 
composed  and  calm  before  the  soldiers. 

The  place  was  left  uninjured,  and  the  captain 
allowed  me  to  supply  with  money  a  wounded 
Confederate  soldier,  whom  they  had  taken  pris- 
oner on  an  adjoining  plantation,  and  send  him 
off  in  my  carriage.  They  also  left  a  Choctaw 
pony  for  my  boy,  which  no  doubt  they  had  stolen 
from  some  place  lower  down  on  the  river.  The 
squad  first  thrown  out  were  the  fast-riders,  to 
take  prisoners,  before  the  main  body,  moving 
more  slowly,  could  come. 


44 


CHAPTER  XI. 

But  the  Federal  soldiers  I  did  not  fear  at  all, 
as  I  did  the  ' '  Jayha wkers. ' '  They  were  com- 
posed of  roving  bands  from  both  armies,  united 
for  the  purpose  of  plunder  —  calling  themselves 
Confederates  usually,  but  feared  by  friend  and 
foe  alike. 

Our  plantation,  having  a  great  deal  of  cotton 
hidden  under  the  cabins,  was  a  special  object 
of  attraction,  and,  when  frustrated,  of  revenge. 
One  night  a?i  attack  was  expected  from  one 
of  these  bands.  My  room  had  mattresses  placed 
around  the  walls,  to  protect  us  from  the  shot, 
while  my  husband,  the  provost  marshal,  and  sev- 
eral of  our  neighbors,  who  had  come  in  for  the 
purpose  of  self -protection,  stood  behind  the  trees, 
ready  to  fire,  as  the  Jayhawkers  approached. 
However,  they  heard  in  some  way  of  the  prepara- 
tions, and  made  a  detour. 

On  another  occasion,  three  men  took  Colonel 
Branch  out  in  the  cane  to  kill  him,  and  only  the 
interference  of  one,  a  Kentuckian,  saved  him. 

Once  they  came  when  I  was  alone,  the  only 
white  woman  in  miles  around,  and  demanded 
Colonel  Branch.  They  asked  the  "time,"  to 
see,  I  think,  if  I  had  a  gold  watch,  and  while, 
on  pretense  of  ordering  them  a  lunch,  I  con- 
trived to  send  a  message  to  Colonel  Branch  not 
to  return  to  the  house. 

On  such  occasions  "Aunt  Beck,"  who  was  a 


GEN.  LAWRENCE  BRANCH. 


46 

famous  cook,  and  believed  in  the  efficacy  of  a 
good  lunch,  would  have  one  prepared  in  almost 
incredible  time,  ably  assisted  by  the  other  serv- 
ants. One  would  prepare  the  fried  chicken,  or 
cold  ham,  another  the  crisp  lettuce  salad,  and 
these  material  comforts  doubtless  served  me 
many  a  good  turn. 

In  time  of  danger,  how  faithful  these  slaves 
were !  What  would  have  become  of  the  women 
and  children  of  the  South  if  they  had  not  been  ? 
No  wonder  the  men  of  the  South  wished  to  raise 
a  monument  to  immortalize  the  fidelity  of  the 
old  ' '  Southern  Mammy  ! ' ' 

So  late  as  last  winter,  nearly  a  half  century 
since  the  slaves  were  freed,  I  received  a  letter, 
written  in  Chicago,  from  one  of  them. 

It  was  from  the  daughter  of  Grandison,  our 
dining-room  servant,  who  wrote  at  the  request  of 
her  father,  who  was  on  his  deathbed.  He  said 
that  he  must  "say  farewell  to  my  old  mistress 
before  he  went. ' '  He  recalled  to  me  the  question 
of  the  Federal  general  to  him  :  ' '  How  does  the 
ex-slave  feel  toward  his  former  owner?"  and 
his  reply,  "Nothing  but  death  can  sever  the  tie 
between  the  old  master  and  his  ex-slave."  How 
many  instances  could  I  enumerate  of  their  fidel- 
ity. To  them  I  owe  the  preservation  of  my  silver 
during  the  war.  "Aunt  Beck"  and  Colonel 
Branch's  body-servant,  Braxton,  dug  a  hole  at 
midnight  on  the  banks  of  the  lake.  There  was 
a  massive  breakfast  service,  and  all  the  flat  silver, 
spoons,  forks,  and  the  silver  pitcher  and  waiter. 
These  they  enclosed  in  a  trunk  and  buried  in 
the  sand.  , 


47 

There  it  remained  for  some  years,  until 
''peace"  at  last  reigned.  Then  George,  my  hus- 
band's eldest  son,  was  sent  to  Arkansas,  to  bring 
it  up  to  our  home  in  Tennessee,  from  which 
State  it  had  been  sent  to  Arkansas  for  preserva- 
tion. 

He  stopped  at  the  Gayosa,  in  Memphis,  for 
two  days,  and  with  a  boy's  carelessness  left  the 
door  of  his  room  open,  yet  no  one  ever  thought 
of  disturbing  the  disreputable-looking  old  trunk, 
tied  with  ropes,  in  which  the  silver  had  been 
packed. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  war  had  ended  —  the  long  agony  was  over, 
and  again  we  met  in  our  mother's  home,  in 
Columbia,  Tennessee. 

First  came  Lucius,  bravest  of  the  brave,  on 
crutches.  Next,  Cadwalader,  whose  horse  was 
shot  from  under  him,  and  he  left  for  dead  on  the 
battle-field  at  Prairie  Grove.  Next,  Rufus,  who 
spent  his  seventeenth  birthday  in  a  prison  on 
Johnson's  Island. 

We  met  again,  in  the  parlor,  where,  after  the 
battle  of  Franklin,  Generals  Cleburne,  Gran- 
berry  and  Stahl  had  been  laid,  before  they  were 
interred  at  St.  John 's  churchyard. 

A  bloody  handkerchief  was  over  General  Cle- 
burne's face,  but  one  of  his  staff  took  from  his 
pocket  an  embroidered  one,  and  said:  "Cover 
his  face  with  this ;  it  was  sent  him  from  Mobile, 
and  I  think  that  he  was  engaged  to  the  young 
lady." 

No  wonder  that  it  is  said  that  the  jingle  of 


48 

spurs  and  the  measured  tread  of  a  Confederate 
soldier  is  often  heard  in  the  hall  of  the  old  house 
at  night ! 

We  separated,  for  another  battle  —  the  battle 
for  our  daily  bread,  and  with  no  resources,  and 
the  debt  of  five  years,  growing  in  interest,  be- 
fore us ! 

The  men  who  were  in  that  war  have  not  been 
long-lived,  as  a  rule.  Sickness,  hardship  and 
wounds  impaired  their  vitality.  They  worked 
with  the  same  doggedness  of  purpose,  uncom- 
plaining and  in  silence,  as  did  Lee,  their  great 
leader.  But  hope  was  gone  —  no  longer  there 
to  vivify  their  souls. 

Then  came  Reconstruction  days.  It  would 
have  been  very  different  if  the  negroes  had  been 
left  to  themselves,  and  not  listened  to  the 
"carpet-baggers"  who  swarmed  over  the  South, 
but  by  them  they  were  incited  to  lawlessness  and 
insult. 

The   Kuklux. 

What  could  be  done  1  There  was  no  law ! 
The  Kuklux  filled  the  needed  want,  and  by  thor- 
ough superstition  awed  the  negroes  into  better 
behavior. 

I  have  looked  out  in  the  moonlight,  and  seen 
a  long  procession  wending  their  way  slowly  on 
the  turnpike,  in  front  of  my  house.  Not  a  sound 
could  be  heard  from  the  muffled  feet  of  their 
horses,  as  in  single  file  they  moved  in  speechless 
silence  —  a  spectral  array  clothed  in  white.  No 
one  knew  who  they  were,  whence  they  came,  and 
what  their  object,  but  the  negroes  soon  knew ; 


49 

and  if  there  were  excesses  in  their  new-found 
liberty,  crimes  committed  by  them,  they  knew 
there  would  be  a  speedy  retribution  by  these 
spectral  visitants. 

They  effected  a  great  good,  but  as  good  is  often 
attended  with  evil,  lawless  men,  who  did  not 
belong  to  the  regular  organization,  disguised 
themselves  as  Kuklux. 

For  instance,  on  my  brother  Lucius'  planta- 
tion, one  night  he  was  aroused  by  negroes  from 
the  quarter,  calling  at  his  window,  begging  him 
to  get  up ;  that  there  was  ' '  A  company  of 
Kuklux  at  the  quarter."  He  went  at  once,  and 
demanded  what  they  wanted.  They  said :  ' '  One 
of  the  negroes  on  the  place  has  done  a  great 
deal  of  mischief,  and  we  have  come  to  whip 
him. ' '  My  brother  said :  "I  know  him  to  be  a 
good  negro,  and  you  can  not  whip  him. "  "  But 
we  must!"  "You  can  not,"  said  my  brother; 
"if  you  do  it  will  be  over  my  dead  body,  for  I 
am  his  natural  protector."  "Well,  General, 
your  life  is  too  valuable  to  be  given  for  this 
negro's,  so,  as  we  do  not  wish  to  kill  you,  we 
will  go." 

Turgeneff,  in  his  book,  "The  Fool's  Errand," 
in  writing  of  the  Kuklux,  of  whom  he  had  heard 
and  seen  a  great  deal,  when  stationed  for  some 
time  in  the  South  immediately  after  the  war, 
writes:  "When  complaints  were  first  sent  to 
the  Government  it  ignored  them,  and  in  good 
humor  from  having  subdued  the  Rebellion, 
treated  the  matter  simply  as  pranks  of  school- 
boys playing  ghosts  to  frighten  the  negroes,  but 
when  the  representations  became  more  serious, 


50 

it  was  forced  to  act,  and  orders  were  given  to  the 
governors  of  the  different  States  to  imprison  and 
try  any  one  who  was  accused  of  being  a  Ku- 
klux." 

The  governors  complied  willingly  —  all  the 
good  had  been  effected.  The  governors  them- 
selves had  been  Kuklux,  and  knew  that  they  had 
been  disbanded,  but  bound  by  such  solemn  oaths 
that  to  this  day  I  can  not  find  who  were  Kuklux. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

My  husband  and  I  went  to  our  beautiful  home, 
"Buena  Vista,"  which  had  been  my  father's. 

It  was  endeared  to  me  by  a  thousand  memories 
of  childhood  and  girlhood.  There  had  I  been 
married,  and  there  had  my  children  been  born. 
It  was  a  large,  old-fashioned  brick  house,  on  an 
elevation.  On  one  side,  a  garden  bordered  with 
hedges  of  the  microfilla  rose,  and  its  summer 
house  and  arbor  festooned  with  wreaths  of  yel- 
low jasmine  —  its  garden  beds  in  the  old  style, 
with  borders  of  box,  trimmed  square. 

In  front  of  the  house  a  climbing  rose,  twenty 
feet  high,  still  hung  from  an  oak,  in  which  were 
embedded  the  bullets  of  the  enemy.  Upon  the 
gallery  had  stood  a  Confederate  soldier,  a  mere 
youth,  who  had  fired  from  behind  the  pillars, 
until  the  boy  fell  dead,  riddled  with  bullets. 

In  the  joy  of  meeting,  we  tried  to  forget  the 
past  —  and  we  were  happy.  My  husband,  big 
in  heart  as  well  as  stature,  and  the  four  children, 
mere  babies,  and  the  father's  delight  in  them. 
He  was  of  so  bright  and  sanguine  a  nature,  it 


51 

was  an  inspiration  to  be  with  him.  I  leaning 
on  him  for  love  and  protection  !  In  my  checkered 
life  was  it  not  a  dream  of  heaven ! 

I  carry  it  with  me  when  days  are  dark,  and 
turn  to  that  picture  of  the  past. 

Two  years  of  this  ideal  life  passed,  and  a  sum- 
mons came  from  the  plantation  in  Arkansas,  and 
he  must  leave. 

Colonel  Branch  left  our  home  on  November 
11,  1867.  I  wished  to  go  with  him,  but  the  care 
of  the  little  children  and  the  place  prevented, 
and  crippled  by  the  war,  our  means  were  not 
what  they  had  been. 

I  had  a  premonition  of  ill,  as  I  gave  him  the 
farewell  kiss. 

Two  days  after  he  arrived  at  the  plantation, 
he  walked  the  main  road  to  examine  a  bridge 
over  the  bayou,  which  needed  repairs.  As  he 
stood  there,  a  buggy  with  the  physician  on  the 
place,  Doctor  Pendleton,  in  it,  Came  up.  Doc- 
tor Pendleton  had  charge  of  the  hospitals  of  the 
two  plantations. 

He  had  been  drinking  heavily  and  was  seek- 
ing a  quarrel,  so  he  called  to  Colonel  Branch, 
making  an  insulting  remark,  and  drew  his  pistol. 

The  Death  of  Colonel  Branch. 

My  husband  raised  his  hand  and  cried  out : 
' '  I  am  unarmed ' ' ;  but  the  fatal  shot  was  fired, 
passing  completely  through  his  body.  He  fell 
upon  the  bank,  partially  paralyzed,  and  the 
negroes,  rushing  from  the  cotton-field,  bore  him 
to  the  house. 

They    filled   his   room,    weeping,    and    crying 


52 

aloud,  while  his  old  nurse  knelt  beside  him.  lie 
said:  "Will  no  one  write  to  my  wife,  and  tell 
her  'farewell'  for  me." 

The  crying  of  the  negroes  distressed  him,  so 
he  said :  ' '  Let  only  a  few  come  in  at  a  time  to 
bid  me  farewell."  This  they  did,  and  so  he 
passed  away. 

The  negroes  were  wild,  they  declared  he 
should  be  avenged.  Many  of  them  had  been  in 
his  family  for  generations,  and  some  in  mine. 
None  had  left  during  the  war ;  this  was  two 
years  afterward,  and  still  all  were  there,  faithful 
to  the  close. 

They  armed  themselves  with  guns,  anything 
with  which  they  could  kill,  and  started  to  Judge 
Fletcher's  plantation,  where  Doctor  Pendleton 
had  just  arrived. 

The  old  judge  had  turned  to  him,  and  said : 
"If  you  killed  Colonel  Branch,  get  out  of  my 
house  this  moment,"  when  an  overseer  from  our 
place,  who  was  a  Mason,  and  bound  to  give  aid 
to  another  Mason  (and  Doctor  Pendleton  was 
one),  came  dashing  through  a  short  cut  to  the 
house,  and  cried  out :  ' '  Go,  for  your  life ;  the 
Branch  negroes  are  on  your  track,  and  they  will 
kill  you,  as  sure  as  there  is  a  God  in  heaven ! ' ' 

Communication  was  very  slow  in  those  days, 
and  a  week  had  passed  before  I  arrived  at  the 
plantation.  I  wished  my  husband  to  be  interred 
in  St.  John's  Cemetery,  at  Columbia,  Tennessee. 

I  traveled  on  the  Henry  Ames,  the  boat  on 
which  I  had  gone  down  the  river  on  my  bridal 
trip  eight  years  before,  and  on  the  anniversary. 
I  had  only  heard  that  he  was  wounded,  but  as 


53 

we  met  each  Arkansas  River  packet,  the  captain 
would  call  out  through  his  speaking-trumpet : 
"How  is  Colonel  Branch?"  At  last  the  answer 
came,  "He  is  dead." 

Many  years  have  passed  since  then,  and  my 
days  glide  serenely  by,  only  speed  more  swiftly, 
as  rivers  hurry  when  they  near  their  destination, 
the  ocean's  depths. 

Only  one  great  sorrow  I  have  had,  the  loss  of 
my  beloved  grandson,  Laurence  Winn,  a  boy  of 
rare  promise,  a  gifted  and  charming  young  boy 
who  died  just  before  his  eighteenth  birthday. 

Nature  never  stands  still,  and  we  may  think 
of  him  as  still  fairer  grown,  and  brighter  in  his 
celestial  home  —  and  with  this  belief  we  should 
still  our  hearts,  and  say:     "God  knoweth  best." 

I  can  not  tear  my  thoughts  from  that  past  life 
and  those  I  loved  so  much,  and  I  sometimes  feel 
that  they  are  very  near  me,  and  I  recall  the 
words  of  Isaiah :  ' '  Seeing  what  a  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses encompass  us  about." 


"  Seeing  What  a  Cloud  of  Witnesses  Encom- 
pass Us  About." 

My  mother,  may  she  be  near  me;  may  her  sweet  eyes 

gaze  in  mine. 
Does  she  watch  and  pray  beside  me,  with  a  mother's 

love   divine? 
Can    He    be   near,    my    dearest?      The    world   seemed    a 

dream  of  bliss, 
When,   alas!   so   soon   he  left  me  to   the   bitterness   of 

this. 


54 

A   witness,    may   be,   my   brother,   with   his    wounds   a 

tale  to  tell 
Of  battle-fields  where  heroes   fought  and  the   conquered 

banner  fell. 
Silent  and  grand,  like  sculptured  knight,  he  waits  in 

his  lowly  bed, 
The   sound   of   the  reveille  to   call  the  soldier  from   the 

dead. 

One  may  be  the  gifted  boy  with  the  blue,  prophetic 

eyes, 
Which  saw,  beyond  his  blighted  life,  a  rainbow  in  the 

skies — 
The    angels    are    around    us,    what    may    their    mission 

be?— 
These    souls     escaped     from     bondage,     from     earthly 

shackles  free? 

They  come  on  silent  wing  through  the  blue  realms  of 

space, 
With  a  glory  caught  from  Heaven,  upon  each  radiant 

face. 

We  feel  their  presence  near  us,  and  a  rapture,  as  of  yore, 
Comes   o'er   us,   as   they  whisper   "  Love   is   love    forever 
more." 

God's    messengers,   sent   to    us    in    the    silent    hour   of 

prayer, 
In  whispers  and  in  dreams — it  may  be  in  visions  rare — 
They  soothe  us  with  the  thought  of  that  blessed  land  of 

Peace, 
Where   tears   shall   never   flow   and   all   life 's   troubles 

cease. 

The  spirits  are  about  us,  but,  alas,  we  cannot  see, 
For   our   vision's  dim   and   blinded   to   Heaven's  great 

mystery. 
But  with  dying  eyes  we  '11  see  them,  as  we  leave  this 

world  of   sin. 
They'll  ope'  the  gates  of  Paradise  that  we  may  enter  in. 


55 


A  Genealogical  Record. 

1.  General  Thomas  Polk  married  Susan  Spratt. 
Said  Thomas  Polk  was  the  son  of  William  Polk, 
and  his  wife  Priscilla  Roberts,  who  was  the  son  of 
John  Polk,  and  his  wife  Joanna  Knox,  who  was 
the  son  of  Robert  Polk,  the  emigrant,  and  his  wife 
Magdalena  Tasker,  of  Moening  Hill,  Ireland, 

1732.     Born   in   Carlisle,  Pa. 

1735-1793.     Resided  in  Colony  of  North  Carolina. 
1769-1771.     Member     of     Provincial     Assembly     of 
North  Carolina. 

1775.     Colonel  of  Militia. 

1775.     Colonel  of  Second  Battalion  of  Minute  Men. 

1775,  May  20.  Called  the  meeting  in  Mechlenberg 
County,  and  was  a  signer  of  the  Mechlenberg  Declara- 
tion  of  Independence. 

1776.  Colonel  of  the  Fourth  regiment  of  North 
Carolina  troops;  was  at  the  battle  of  Brand ywine,  but 
not  at  battle  of  Germantown,  being  at  that  time  in 
command  of  the  escort  of  North  Carolina  troops  (200) 
detailed  to  convey  the  Liberty  Bell  and  guard  to  a 
place  of  safety  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  the  heavy  baggage 
of  the  army,  among  which  was  the  Liberty  Bell.  There 
were  several  hundred  wagons.  (From  the  official 
diaries  of  the  Moravian  church,  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1777.) 

Charles  S.  Keyser  in  his  pamphlet,  "Liberty  Bell." 

Wheeler 's    History    of   North    Carolina. 

Life  of  Bishop  Polk,  pp.  65  and  68. 

Jones'  "Defense  of  North  Carolina." 

Huffman's  "Register  of  Officers  in  Colonial  Army," 
p.   36. 

Trustee  of  Liberty  Hall  College.  (History  of  North 
Carolina,  Continental  Line,  H.  H.  Bellas.) 

Wheeler's  "Reminiscences  of  Eminent  Carolinians," 
pp.   200-256. 


56 

History  of  North  Hampton  County,  Pennsylvania, 
1752-1877,  Captain  F.  Ellis,  historian. 

Commissary  General  under  Gates.  ("Life  of  Leoni- 
das   Polk.") 

2.  William  Polk,  son  of  Thomas  Polk,  and 
Susan  Spratt.  First  wife  Grizelda  Gilchrist. 
Second  wife  Sarah  Hawkins. 

1758,  July  9.  Born  in  Mechlenberg  County,  North 
Carolina. 

1834,  January  14.     Died  in  Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 

1775,  April  17.  Second  Lieutenant  in  a  company 
commanded  by  Colonel  Ezekiel  Polk. 

1775,  December  22.  Severely  wounded  at  Canebrake, 
when  only  16  years  old.  This  was  his  only  Colonial 
service. 

1776,  November  26.  Appointed  major  of  the  Ninth 
continental  battalion.  From  absence  of  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  this  regiment,  the  command  of  it  devolved 
upon  the  major,  and  he  marched  with  it  to  Georgetown, 
and  thence  to  Trenton,  where  he  joined  the  Grand 
Army  under  Washington,  and  was  in  the  battles  of 
Germantown  (where  he  was  wounded),  Brandywine 
and  Valley  Forge,  where  he  was  shot  in  the  shoulder, 
and  at  Germantown  in  the  mouth.  Here  he  became 
known  as  the  young  officer  "who  caught  British  bullets 
in  his  teeth." 

1812.  He  was  appointed  General  in  the  United 
States  Army  in  1812,  but  declined  on  account  .of  in- 
firmities. Was  nominated  by  Washington,  and  con- 
firmed by  United  States  Senate,  as  Supervisor  of 
Internal  Revenue  for  North  Carolina,  which  office  he 
held  for  seventeen  years. 

1824.  He  was  one  of  the  Commissioners  to  receive 
Lafayette.     Member  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati. 

Genealogy  of  the  Jones  Family. 

Robin  Jones  married  Sarah  Cobb.  Grandson  of 
Eobin  Jones  the  emigrant.      (From  the  Bible  of 


57 

Isaac    Cobb.     "His    Book.")     Robin    Jones    was 
born  prior  to  1700  in  Sussex  County,  Va. 

1750-1756.  Lived  in  Northampton  County,  North 
Carolina. 

1754-1755.     Member  of  Colonial  Assembly. 

1761,  March  20.  Appointed  Attorney  General  by 
order  King  and  Council,  an  office  he  held  until  his 
death.  Agent  of  Lord  Granville,  who  was  one  of  the 
Lord  Proprietors. 

1766.     Died. 

Appleton  's   Encyclopedia. 

Governor  Debb's  Dispatches. 

Wheeler's   Eeminiscences,  pp.   195-197. 

Polls  Office  of  Colonial  Records.    London. 

Register  of  Albemarle  and  Sussex  Counties,  p.   1. 

General  Allen  Jones,  his  wife,  Rebecca  Edwards. 
Son  of  Eobin  Jones  and  Sarah  Cobb. 

1739.     Porn  in  Halifax  County,  North  Carolina. 

Died  on  his  estate,  Mt.  Gallant,  Roanoke  River, 
North  Carolina. 

1774-1768.     Member  of  Provincial  Congress. 
v  1775.     Delegate  to  Newbern  Convention. 

1775.  Member  of  Committee  of  Safety  for  Halifax 
County. 

1776,  April  23.  Appointed  one  of  the  five  Rrigadier- 
Generals   from   North    Carolina. 

1779-1780.  Member  of  Continental  Congress  that 
met  in  Philadelphia. 

1776,  April  4.  Represented  Northampton  County  in 
the  Legislature. 

1779.     Member  of  Congress. 

1784-1787.     State  Senator. 

Wheeler's  Reminiscences,  pp.  196-204. 

Appleton 's  Piographical   Encyclopedia,  p.   482. 

Jones'  Defense  of  North  Carolina,  pp.  203-256-257. 

Wheeler's  History,  Vol.  T,  pp.  65-68;  Vol.  2,  p.  206. 


58 


Genealogy  of  the  Long  Family. 

Rebecca  Jones,  only  daughter  of  General  Allen 
Jones,  married  Lunsford  Long-,  son  of  Colonel 
Nicholas  Long. 

1761.     Colonel  Nicholas  Long  married  Mary  McKinnie. 

1798.  Died.  Both  buried  at  his  estate,  "  Quanky, " 
North  Carolina. 

1774-1775.  Member  of  Committee  of  Safety,  and  in 
Provincial  Congress. 

1776.  Appointed  by  Provincial  Congress  Colonel 
of  Minute  Men.  Afterwards  Commissary  General  for 
the  province  of  North  Carolina. 

1776.  Deputy  Quartermaster  General,  with  rank  of 
Colonel  in   the    Continental   Army. 

Jones'  Defense  of  North  Carolina. 

Huttman  's  Register  of  Officers  of  Colonial  Army. 

Appleton  's  Biographical  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  3,  pp. 
185-186. 

Register  of  Officers  of  Continental  Army.  H.  H. 
Bellas. 

Barnaby  McKinnie. 

Barnaby  McKinnie,  father  of  Mrs.  Nicholas 
Long,  nee  Mary  McKinnie,  a  noted  woman  of  her 
day.     ("Women  of  the  Revolution/'  Mrs.  Ellet.) 

1688.     Born. 

1759.     Died. 

1734-1735.  Member  of  the  Colonial  Assembly  of 
North  Carolina. 

1746-1758.  Justice  of  County  Court.  Appointed  by 
Governor  Johnstone. 

Fourth   sheriff  of  Warren  County. 

Patience  McKinnie,  daughter  of  Barnaby  McKinnie, 
married  Joseph  Lane,  son  of  governor  of  the  first  col- 
ony of  North  Carolina.  Their  daughter  married  Allen 
Gilchrist,  descended  from  Martha  Jones,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Robin  Jones. 


North C/rrotififr. 

FAMILY  COAT  OF  ARMS. 


(50 


Edwards  Line. 

Colonel     Nathaniel     Edwards     married     Jane 
Eaton. 

1713.  John  Edwards,  father  of  Nathaniel,  died  in 
Brunswick  County. 

1709.  Colonel  Nathaniel  Edwards,  born  in  Bruns- 
wick County. 

1770-1771.  Member  of  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses 
until  his  death  in   1771. 

1771.  He  vacated  his  seat  by  accepting  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State   (deputy)   for  State  of  Virginia. 

Eecords  of  Brunswick  County.  W.  G.  Stanard,  of 
Eichmond,  Virginia. 


William  Eaton. 

William  Eaton  (father  of  Jane  Eaton  Edwards) 
married  Mary  Rives,  of  Albemarle  County,  Vir- 
ginia. 

Born  in  Essex  County,  England,  and  emigrated 
to  Virginia.  His  estate  in  England  was  "Eaton 
Green."     Owned  an  immense  property. 

1754.     Colonel    Granville    County   Militia. 

1757.     Member  of  North  Carolina  Colonial  Assembly. 

1757.     Died. 

See  Colonial  Eecords,  p.   162. 


Record  Through  Which  I  Became  a  Colonial  Dame. 

1.  General  Thomas  Polk,  my  great  grandfather 
through  my  father. 

2.  Colonel    William.  Polk,    my    grandfather. 

3.  Eobin  Jones,  my  great-great-grandfather.  Founder 
of  the  family  in  America.  Descent  on  both  sides  from 
him,  making  my  father  and  mother  cousins. 

4.  General  Allen  Jones,  son  of  Eobin  Jones,  my 
great-grandfather  on  my  mother's  side. 


61 

5.  Colonel  Nicholas  Long,  my  great-grandfather 
through  my  mother's  father,  who  was  Lunsford  Long. 

6.  Sir  Barnaby  McKinnie,  father  of  Mrs.  Nicholas 
Long. 

7.  Colonel  Nathaniel  Edwards,  father  of  Mrs.  Allen 
Jones. 

8.  William  Eaton,  father  of  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Ed- 
wards. 

Branch  Line. 

The  first  Branch  of  whom  we  know  was  Peter 
Branch,  of  Kent,  England,  who  came  over  in  the 
Castle,  1638,  but  died  on  the  voyage.  His  will, 
made  in  favor  of  his  ten-year-old  son,  John,  is  the 
first  one  recorded  in  Boston. 

John  married  Mary  Speed,  and  they  became  the 
proprietors  of  "Branch  Island,"  ten  miles  north 
of  Plymouth  Rock. 

Peter,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Branch,  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Lincoln,  "the 
Miller,"  who  was  an  ancestor  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Colonel  John  Branch,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  married  Rebecca  Bradford,  a  daughter 
of  John  and  Patience  Bradford. 

1775.  He  was  a  "Terror  to  Tories"  and  a  distin- 
guished soldier. 

1775.     Sheriff  of  Halifax  County,  North  Carolina. 

1781-1782  and  1787-1788.     In  the  Senate. 

1806,  March  14.     Died  at  Elkmark,  N.  C. 

The  Branch  family  responded  to  every  call  to 
arms  and  the  defense  of  liberty.  Among  those 
who  served  from  Connecticut  for  the  relief  of 
Boston  in  the  "Lexington  Alarm"  was  Sergeant 
Thomas  Branch  and  Rufus  Branch.  When  the 
signal  came,  announcing  the  approach  of  the 
British  on  Bennington,  he  dropped  his  sickle  in 


62 

the  field,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  away  to 
join  Stark's  forces.  Many  are  the  stories  told 
of  the  bravery  and  wit  of  Rufus'  wife.  At  the 
time  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  several  women 
gathered  at  her  home,  intending  if  the  British 
were  victorious  to  flee  to  the  hills.  Fear  and 
consternation  reigned.  However,  Mrs.  Branch 
sat  carding  flax,  declaring  that  she  would  not 
stir  until  she  could  see  the  color  of  the  British 
eyes.  During  her  husband's  absence,  with  her 
daughters'  help,  she  gathered  wood  for  winter 
use,  she  harvested  the  wheat  and  butchered  the 
pigs. 

The  descendants  of  John  Branch,  the  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  were  as  follows : 

John,  Governor  of  North  Carolina  and  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  under  President  Jackson. 

Patsy  married  Whittier. 

Patience  married  Southall. 

Joseph  married  Susan  O  'Bryan. 

Issue  of  Joseph  Branch  and  Susan  O  'Bryan  were 
Joseph,  Henry,  Susan,  Lawrence,  and  James. 

Joseph  married,  first,  Annie  Martin;  second,  Mary 
Jones  Polk,  of  Tennessee. 

Descendants,  George,  Martin,  and  Henry. 

Second  marriage  to  Mary  Jones  Polk.  Issue,  Mary 
Polk,  married  Dr.  Winn. 

Their  descendants  were  Laurence  Branch  Winn  and 
Mary  Polk. 

Laurence  0 'Bryan. 

Lucia  married  J.  W.  Howards.  Their  descendants 
are  Gerald  and  Laurence  Branch. 

Joseph  Gerald. 

Joseph  Branch  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of 
Florida  at  twenty-one,  a  successful  lawyer  and  planter 
in  Desha  County,  Arkansas,  where  he  amassed  a  very 
large  fortune.  He  was  assassinated  on  his  plantation, 
November  22,  1867. 


63 


Gerald  Toole. 

1737.     Laurence   Toole   married   Sabre  Irvine. 

1750.     Sabre   Toole,   his  wife,   died. 

Their  descendants  were  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Nancy, 
Laurence,  Henry  Irvine,  Sabre,  Jean,  and   Geraldus. 

1757.     Elizabeth  married  Geraldus  0 'Bryan. 

1764.     Geraldus  O 'Bryan  died. 

Sabre  married  Body. 

Descendants  of  Geraldus  and  Elizabeth  O 'Bryan: 
Dennis   and   Laurence. 

1761.     Laurence  was  born. 

1786.     Married  Elizabeth  Simpson. 

1812.     Laurence  O  'Bryan  died. 

Descendants  of  Laurence  and  Elizabeth  Simpson 
were : 

Laurence  Dennis,  who  married  Barsha  Gordon. 

Susan  married  Joseph  Branch. 

1825.     Susan  Simpson  O 'Bryan  died. 

Descendants  of  Joseph  Branch  and  Susan  O 'Bryan: 
Henry,  Joseph,   Susan,   Laurence,   and  James. 

1.  Joseph  Branch,  the  second.  Son  of  Joseph 
Branch  and  Susan  0 'Bryan. 

Married,  first,  Annie  Pillow  Martin. 
Their  issue: 

George  Martin  and  Henry  Lewis  Branch. 
Married,  second,  Mary  Jones  Polk. 
Their  issue : 

1.  Mary  Polk  married  Dr.  Chas.  Ware  Winn. 
Issue :     Laurence  Branch  Winn,  Mary  Polk  Winn. 

2.  Laurence  O'Bryan  Branch. 

3.  Lucia  Eugenia,  married  John  William  Howard. 
Their  issue :     Gerald  Branch  Howard,  Laurence  Branch 

Howard. 

4.  Joseph  Gerald  Branch,  the  third,  Joseph  Branch, 
second,  was  a  member  of  Legislature  of  Florida  at 
twenty-one,  a  successful  lawyer  and  planter  in  Desha 
bounty,  Arkansas,  where  he  amassed  a  very  large  fortune. 
He  was  assassinated  on  his  plantation  November  22, 
1867. 


Family  Coat  of  Anns. 


65 

2.  Laurence  0 'Bryan  Branch,  first.  Son  of 
Joseph  Branch  and  Susan  0 'Bryan.  Member 
of  Congress  from  North  Carolina,  Speaker  of 
the  House  for  many  years.  Brigadier-General 
in  Confederate  Army.  Killed  at  battle  of 
Sharpsburg. 

Married  Nannie  Blount. 

Issue:      Susan,  Nannie,  Laurence  and  Josephine. 
Susan  married  Robert  Jones. 

Issue :     Laurence  Branch.  -      *      —a   A 

Nannie  married  -£—  Jones.  X  ^^f^f-^  (hf^?  ' 

Iff,      Laurence  married  Miss  Washerton.    TtctJ^*-^^        t^J'Cj 
UUfQ'ffotiGNttg&e  married  Burton  Craig.  tf.  . 

3.  Susan,  daughter  of  Joseph  first  and  Susan    g 

0 'Bryan.  %<SuMj^tH.  £♦*  &****- 

Married  General  Robert  Williams,  of  Florida.  /%iJtjl*L.     1 

Issue :      Robert,  married  Jennie  Sutton,^iLomsia'na.  Jr 

4.  James,  youngest  son  of  Joseph  and  Susan 
0 'Bryan  Branch. 

Married  Mary  Watkins. 

Issue:     James,  Joseph,  Susan  and  Robert. 

Genealogy. 

In  the  reign  of  King  David,  of  Scotland,  the 
vast  feudal  Barony  of  Pollock,  in  Renfrewshire, 
was  held  by  the  noble  territorial  King  Fulbert, 
the  Saxon.  Upon  the  death  of  this  monarch  in 
1153  Petreus  succeeded,  who  assumed  the  sur- 
name of  his  vast  hereditary  estate  of  Pollock. 
According  to  the  best  authorities,  the  Lord  Baron 
of  this  feudal  kingdom  was  a  man  of  eminent 
ability.  He  was  the  benefactor  of  the  monastery 
Paisley.  His  donation  was  received  by  the 
Bishop  of  Glasgow  prior  to  A.  D,  1190, 


66 

This  Petreus  de  Pollok  was  a  law  unto  him- 
self, and  equal  to  the  sovereign  of  the  realm  in 
wealth  and  power.  He  was  the  ancestor  of  a 
long  line  of  warriors,  and  the  forbear  of  knights 
who  fought  in  the  crusades.  He  was  himself 
distinguished  for  deeds  of  prowess,  and  the  sub- 
ject of  many  a  minstrel  lay. 

In  addition  to  the  vast  Renfrewshire  estates, 
Petreus  de  Pollok  held  the  Barony  of  Rostis,  in 
Aberdeenshire,  during  the  reign  of  Malcolm  IV., 
of  Scotland.  The  latter  lands  he  gave  to  his 
daughter,  Maurick,  who  married  Sir  Norman  de 
Leslie,  and  became  ancestress  of  the  Lords  Rostis 
and  Leslie. 

On  the  death  of  Petreus  de  Pollok  the  ancient 
patrimonial  estate  of  Pollok  passed  to  his  brother, 
Robert  de  Pollok,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
of  the  same  name. 

Finally  we  come  to  a  later  Petreus,  one  of  the 
persons  of  rank,  who  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1206  gave  a  forced  submission  to  Edward  I.,  of 
England,  in  the  bond  known  as  the  "Ragsman" 
bond.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Robert  de 
Pollok,  who  married  Agnes,  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Maxwell,  Lord  of  Carleverok. 

Brecius  de  Pollok,  who  left  a  son,  John  de  Pol- 
lok, designated  in  a  charter  by  King  James  II., 
of  Scotland  (December  12,  1439),  as  "Nobiles 
vir  Johannes  de  Pollok  filius  at  hews  Brecius." 
From  this  famous  noble  sprang  the  illustrious 
line  of  that  ilk.  His  successor  was  Charles  de 
Pollok. 

John  de  Pollok  had  a  second  son,  Robert  de 
Pollok,  who  received  from  King  James  II,  the 


67 

great  land  grant  in  Veoius  Scotia,  in  New  Scot- 
land, as  Ireland  was  then  called.  He  became 
Sir  Robert  de  Pollok,  of  Ireland,  whose  eldest 
son,  Robert  de  Pollok,  inherited  the  estates  in 
old  Scotland,  while  the  younger  son,  Robert, 
received  the  newly  acquired  lands  in  Ireland, 
with  the  title  of  Sir  Robert  de  Pollok. 

In  the  year  1640  Sir  Robert,  of  Ireland,  joined 
the  Scotch  Covenanters,  whose  commander-in- 
chief  and  Governor  of  Dunbarton  castle  was  a 
relative  of  Sir  Alexander  Leslie,  of  the  famous 
soldiers  of  that  day. 

Sir  Robert  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Thomas. 
Sir  Robert's  second  son,  Robert  Bruce  Pollok, 
married  the  widow  of  Major  Porter,  of  the  Eng- 
lish army.  According  to  well-authenticated 
records,  this  lady's  maiden  name  was  Magdalen 
Tasker,  of  noble  French  descent,  and  heiress  of 
"Moerning  Hall,"  in  Ireland.  She  survived  her 
husband,  and  died  about  1724.  Certain  it  is  that 
in  the  year  1687  Robert  Pollok  had  patented  to 
him  certain  estates  in  "Dames  quarter,"  Somer- 
set County,  Maryland,  which  have  descended  in 
the  family  to  the  present  generation,  and  a  fact 
of  more  than  passing  interest  is  the  will  of  Mag- 
dalen Tasker  Pollok,  made  when  ninety  years 
old,  in  1776,  recorded  in  Somerset  County,  in 
which  she  devises  to  her  son,  Joseph,  ' '  My  estate 
'Moerning  Hall,'  "  in  the  kingdom  of  Ireland, 
and  Barony  of  Ross,  County  of  Donegal,  and  in 
the  parish  of  Leford. 

Of  the  eight  children  who  emigrated  to  Somer- 
set County,  with  Robert  Bruce  Pollok  (Polk) 
and  his  wife  Magdalen,  the  majority  married ; 


68 

and  .their  descendants  have  included  distin- 
guished men,  not  only  of  Maryland,  but  all 
through  the  South  and  West.  When,  as  in  the 
case  of  Robert  Pollok.  we  find  a  man  of  high 
position,  with  wife  and  children,  and  the  records 
later  disclose  the  fact  that  valuable  estates  were 
left  behind  in  the  mother  country,  imagination 
becomes  active,  and  it  is  natural  enough  to  pic- 
ture the  hasty  flight  of  Protestants  who  would 
be  condemned  to  death  for  loyalty  to  a  principle. 

AVith  the  change  from  Catholicism,  in  the  year 
1689,  we  find  the  names  of  Robert  Polk  and  that 
of  his  son  appear  among  the  list  of  loyal  subjects 
of  King  William  and  Queen  Mary. 

Robert  Polk  was  said  to  be  an  elder  in  old 
Rehobeth  church,  claimed  to  be  the  oldest  Pres- 
byterian ehurch  in  America.  He  brought  with 
him  from  Ireland  the  family  Bible,  containing 
records  of  births  and  deaths.  It  was  stained  by 
the  weather  from  being  hidden  in  a  tree.  When 
it  was  read  one  of  the  family  would  stand  on 
guard  to  watch  for  the  Papists.  This  was  after 
the  "Reformation."  Robert  Pollok \s  old  home, 
"White  Hall,"  was  standing  until  about  sixty 
years  ago,  when  it  was  burned.  In  it  still,  when 
it  was  burned,  there  was  a  clock  brought  from 
Londonderry,  Ireland;  also  an  old  mahogany 
case  that  contained  fifteen  square  bottles. 

The  First  Deeds  to  Land. 

The  first  deeds  of  land  we  find  recorded  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland  were  from  Lord 
Baltimore,  date  1685:  "To  Robert  Polk,  Sr., 
'Polk's  Folly':    to  John.  'Locust  Hammock':    to 


69 

William,  'Polk's  Defense';  to  Robert,  Jr.,  'Bally 
Hook';  to  Ephraim,  'Clemmel';  to  James, 
'  James  Meadow.'  " 

Change  of  Name. 

Why  this  change  of  name  to  Polk? 

Tradition  says  that,  being  Presbyterians,  and 
having  been  engaged  in  one  of  the  many  plots 
of  that  sect  against  Charles  II.,  they  fled  to 
escape  persecution,  leaving  off  the  last  syllable 
of  the  name  and  changing  it  from  Pollok  to  Polk. 
The  name  of  Robert's  estate,  "Polk's  Folly," 
suggests  that  Robert  regretted  leaving  the  old 
country;  "Polk's  Defense,"  that  William  was 
still  rebellious.  "White  Hall"  descended  to 
William  Polk,  the  second  son  of  Robert  and 
Magdalen,  and  from  him  to  his  descendant,  Col. 
James  Polk,  naval  officer  of  the  port  of  Balti- 
more, under  his  kinsman,  President  Polk. 

From  this  elder  branch  descend  the  children 
of  Governor  Lowe,  who  married  Esther  Polk, 
daughter  of  Col.  James  Polk.  His  daughter, 
Mary  Polk,  married  Mr.  Gorter,  Belgiac  Consul 
at  Baltimore  for  many  years. 

Robert  Polk,  a  grandson,  took  up  lands  in  Dor- 
chester County  about  1778.  His  son,  Col. 
William  Polk,  was  a  member  of  the  Delaware 
Council,  and  possessor  of  large  estates  known  as 
"Polk's  Defense,"  which  he  inherited.  In  this 
home  was  born  Truston  Polk,  Governor  of  Mis- 
souri, and  representative  of  Missouri  twice  in 
the  Senate. 

Robert  Polk,  fifth  son  of  the  emigrant,  married 
Miss   Gillette.     Their   son,    Capt.   Robert   Polk, 


70 

married  Elizabeth,  sister  of  the  great  artist, 
Peale  (William  Wilson).  Their  son,  Charles 
Peale  Polk,  inherited  the  talent  of  his  mother's 
family,  and  became  a  distinguished  artist  also. 

"The  Polk  family,  a  family  of  heroes  for  four 
generations,  are  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  They 
are  of  very  ancient  lineage,  tracing  their  descent 
back  to  Fulbert  A.  D.  1075."  —  Genealogical 
History.  Col.  Jones,  1899.  Baltimore  Sun,  of 
September  4,  1904.  American  Magazine,  April, 
1896,  and  October,  1897. 

John  Polk. 

From  John  Polk,  the  oldest  son  of  Robert  and 
Magdalen  Tasker  Polk,  are  descended  the  Polk 
family  of  North  Carolina,  who  afterwards  emi- 
grated to  Tennessee. 

John  married  Johanna  Knox  (second  wife). 
She  died  in  1777.  William,  only  son  of  this  mar- 
riage, moved  to  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  He  mar- 
ried Priscilla  Roberts.  They  had  eight  children 
(and  with  these  he  emigrated  to  Mecklenburg, 
North  Carolina,  in  1750),  namely:  Thomas, 
Charles,  Ezekiel,  Susa  (married  Alex.  Brevard, 
Governor  North  Carolina),  Margaret  (married 
A.  McRae) . 

Charles,  the  second  son,  was  a  soldier  of  the 
Revolution,  member  of  the  Assembly  1793 
(Wheeler).  He  was  noted  for  his  daring  and 
his  love  of  a  practical  joke  and  gained  the 
soubriquet  of  "Devil  Charley."  One  of  the 
anecdotes  told  of  him  was  that  while  Colonel 
Thompson's  regiment  encamped  in  a  church 
in  North  Carolina,  Captain  Charlie  played 
"Ghost."    Attired  in  white  and  rattling  chains, 


71 


he  sprang  up  through  a  trap  door  in  the  pulpit 
and  put  the  regiment  to  flight. 

Ezekiel  Polk. 

Ezekiel,  the  youngest  son,  was  a  signer  of  the 
Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
commanded  a  company  in  the  Revolution.  His 
son,  Samuel,  emigrated  from  North  Carolina  to 
Columbia,  Tennessee,  in  1796,  the  year  before 
Maury  was  made  into  a  county.  He  married 
Jane  Knox,  whose  family  also  had  been  Cove- 
nanters. He  was  agent  for  his  cousin,  William 
Polk,  for  his  lands  in  Tennessee,  which  were  one 
hundred  thousand  acres.  His  oldest  son  was 
President  James  K.  Polk,  whose  life  is  too  well 
known  for  me  to  give  a  sketch  of  it  here;  his 
successful  administration,  his  war  with  Mexico, 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  the  acquisition  of  Cali- 
fornia, making  territory  as  large  as  the  thirteen 
colonial  States,  make  his  administration  one  of 
the  most  glorious  recorded  in  our  history. 

The  Old  Home  of  President  Polk. 

The  old  home  in  which  President  Polk  lived 
is  still  to  be  seen  in  Columbia,  Tennessee. 

Samuel  Polk  left  other  descendants  who  have 
distinguished  themselves.  Col.  William  Polk,  a 
man  of  great  wit  and  humor,  Consul  to  Italy. 
He  left  an  only  son,  Tasker  Polk,  of  North  Caro- 
lina, a  lawyer  and  journalist  of  decided  ability. 

Other  descendants  of  Ezekiel  Polk  were  Gen- 
eral Neely,  of  Bolaivar,  Tennessee;  Col.  Albert 
McNeil,  and  Edmund  Polk,  no  one  more  prom- 
inent in  Tennessee  politics  than  he  at  the  time 
of  his  early  death. 


PRESIDENT  JAMES  K.  POLK. 

Taken  in    1848.     Nashville,  Tennessee. 


73 


Colonel  Thomas  Polk. 

Colonel  Thomas  Polk,  oldest  son  of  John,  mar- 
ried Susan  Spratt. 

1724.     Born  in  Maryland. 

1735-1793.     Resided  in  colony  of  North  Carolina. 
1769-1771.     Member  of  Provincial  Assembly. 
1775.     Colonel  of  militia. 

1775.  Colonel  of  the  2d  Battalion  of  Minute  Men. 

1776.  April  15,  commissioned  to  buy  powder.  Trustee 
of  "  Liberty  Hall,"  North  Carolina. 

He  was  colonel  of  the  Mecklenburg  district  at 
the  time  of  the  "Mecklenburg  Declaration  of 
Independence,"  of  May  20,  1775,  and  "called 
the  meeting."  The  resolutions,  read  by  him  on 
the  courthouse  steps  to  an  assembly  of  people, 
were  drawn  up  by  his  son-in-law,  Ephraim  Bre- 
vard. I  shall  not  enter  into  a  discussion  of  this 
much-mooted  Mecklenburg  Declaration.  I  can  • 
not  doubt  the  testimony,  however,  of  these  old 
God-fearing  and  truth-telling  Presbyterians 
before  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  in  1800 
to  the  effect  that  "they  were  present,  and  that 
the  Declaration  of  1775,  May  20,  was  similar  to 
that  later  one  of  1776." 

John  Simmonson,  in  giving  his  testimony 
before  the  legislature,  relates  this  anecdote : 

One  aged  man  was  asked  —  an  old  Scotchman  —  if  he 
knew  anything  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration.  He  re- 
plied, "  Och,  aye;  Tarn  Polk  declared  independence  laug 
syne,  lang  before  anybody." 

At  a  few  days  later  date,  namely,  May  31,  1775,  sev- 
eral of  these  same  patriots,  among  whom  was  Thomas 
Polk,  signed  the  historical  and  undisputed  "  Resolves," 
which  .are  on  file  in  the  Rolls  Office,  London.  These 
"Resolves"  (says  Bancroft)  separated  Mecklenburg  from 


75 

the   English  empire  thirteen  months  before  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence. 

"  This  is  glory  enough  for  the  Mecklenburg  Fathers 
and  is  a  glory  that  can  not  be  plucked  from  their  brow." 
—  James  C.  Welling. 

Colonel  Polk,  April  15,  1776,  was  in  command 
of  the  escort  of  North  Carolina  troops  (200), 
detailed  to  convoy  and  guard  to  a  place  of  safety 
the  heavy  baggage  of  the  army.  Among  the 
bells  of  Philadelphia  which  he  had  in  charge  was 
the  "Liberty  Bell."  There  were  several  hun- 
dred wagons.     We  give  extracts : 

History  of  Philadelphia,  1609-1884: 

"August,  1777.  Colonel  FloAver,  aided  by  carpenters; 
James  Morrell,  Francis  Allison  and  Evans,  took  down 
the  bells  of  the  churches  and  public  buildings.  They 
were  carried  to  Trenton,  and  thence  to  Bethlehem." 

History  of  North  Hampton  County,  Pennsylvania, 
1752-1757.— Capt.  F.  Ellis,  historian: 

"  September  23,  1777.  Seven  hundred  waggons,  escorted 
by  Colonel  Polk,  arrived  at  Bethlehem. 

"  The  next  day  the  train  crossed  the  river  and  passed 
through  the  town  to  the  place  where  the  stores  were  to 
be  deposited. 

"  While  passing  through  the  streets,  one  of  the  waggons 
which  carried  the  Statehouse  bell  broke  down  and  its 
load  obliged  to  be  transferred  to  another.  Seven  hundred 
waggons  deposited  their  stores,  proceeded  to  Trenton  to 
remove  a  farther  quantity  of  public  property,  which  was 
stored  there. 

"  The  Statehouse  bell,  which  was  in  the  waggon  which 
broke  down  in  Bethlehem,  had  been  taken  down  and  car- 
ried away  for  safety  when  the  British  army  approached 
the  city."  — ■  From  official  diaries  of  the  Moravian  Church. 

"  September  24,  1777.  In  the  afternoon  Colonels  Polk 
and  Thornburg  arrived  with  seven  hundred  waggons  con- 
taining the  heavy  baggage.  They  came  directly  from  the 
camp  and  everything  was  unloaded  to  a  place  of  safety 
and  left  in  Bethlehem. 


76 

"  A  guard  of  two  hundred  men,  who  were  encamped 
on  the  banks  of  the  Lehigh,  were  left  behind." 

Extract  from  another  diary:  "The  heavy  baggage  of 
the  entire  army  arrived  directly  from  camp,  guarded  by 
two  hundred  men  under  Colonel  Polk,  of  North  Carolina. 
There  were  seven  hundred  waggons  in  train,  everything 
was  unloaded  and  brought  to  a  place  of  safety.  The 
waggons  were  ordered  to  Trenton  in  order  to  fetch  the 
stores  from  that  place  also  to  Bethlehem.  Among  these 
stores  were  the  bells  of  Philadelphia.  The  waggon  con- 
taining the  Statehouse  bell  broke  down  in  the  streets  of 
Bethlehem  so  that  the  bell  had  to  be  unloaded;  the  other 
bells  were  taken  away." 

History  of  Philadelphia,  1609-1884,  by  J.  Thomas 
Scharf  and  Thompson  Wescott. 

Wheeler's  "  History  of  North  Carolina." 

Thomas  S.  Keyser,  in  his  pamphlet,  "  Liberty  Bell." 

"  Life  of  Bishop  Polk,"  pp.  65-68. 

"  History  of  North  Carolina  Continental  Line."  H.  H. 
Bellas. 

Wheeler's  "  Reminiscences  of  Eminent  North  Caroli- 
nians," pp.  200-256. 

"  History  of  North  Hampton  County,  Pennsylvania," 
1752-1757,  Capt.  P.  Ellis,  historian. 


Colonel  William  Polk. 

1759.  Oldest  son  of  General  Thomas  Polk  and  Susan 
Spratt. 

1824.  Born  January  18;  died  in  Raleigh,  North  Caro- 
lina. 

His  first  wife  was  Grizelda  Gilchrist ;  second  wife, 
Sarah  Hawkins. 

Issue  of  first  marriage  : 

Thomas  Gilchrist,  who  married  Mary  Trotter. 

William  Julias  Polk,  married  Mary  Long. 

Issue  of  second  marriage : 

Lucias  Junias,  married  Mary  Easton;  second  wife, 
Anne  Irwin. 

Leonidas  Polk,  married  Prances  Peveveux, 


77 

Mary,  married  George  Badger,  Senator  from  North 
Carolina. 

Rufus  King,  married  Sarah  Jackson. 
Susan  Spratt,  married  Kenneth  Raynor. 
George,  married  Sallie  Hilliard. 
Andrew  Jackson,  married  Rebecca  Van  Leer. 

Colonel  William  Polk. 

Owning  immense  tracts  of  land  in  Tennessee 
—  one  hundred  thousand  acres  —  he  states  in  his 
will,  which  was  probated  in  Columbia,  Tennessee, 
in  18 — .  This  he  divided  among  his  eight  chil- 
dren, the  tracts  being  usually  five  thousand  acres 
in  extent.  Upon  these  lands  were  located  the 
homes  of  his  children,  when  they  left  North 
Carolina  and  made  their  new  homes  in  Maury 
County,  Tennessee. 

Their  residences  were  a  few  miles  apart,  upon 
the  Mount  Pleasant  road.  This  was  afterwards 
made  a  turnpike,  the  work  done  by  the  slaves  of 
the  stockholders.  These  were  Dr.  William  Polk 
(my  father),  his  brother  Lucias,  General  and 
Jerome  Pillow,  Evan  Young  and  Peter  Booker. 
This  pike  extended  from  Springhill  to  Clifton, 
on  the  Tennessee  river. 

"Hamilton  Place,"  the  residence  of  General 
Lucias  Polk,  was  built  by  my  grandfather,  who 
sent  workmen  from  North  Carolina  in  wagons, 
to  prepare  a  home  for  his  son  and  his  bride,  who 
was  to  be,  Mary  Eastin,  the  niece  of  Mrs.  An- 
drew Jackson,  the  wife  of  the  President. 

The  marriage  took  place  at  the  "White 
House,"  and  was  very  pleasing  both  to  GeneraL 
Jackson  and  my  grandfather,  who  had  been  life- 
long friends, 


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79 

"Ashwood  Hall"  was  built  by  Bishop  Polk, 
and  later  sold  to  his  youngest  brother,  Andrew, 
who  married  Rebecca  Van  Leer.  They  were  the 
handsomest  couple  I  have  ever  seen.  He  was 
the  captain  of  a  cavalry  company  during  the 
Civil  War,  but,  disabled  and  a  wreck,  he  went 
abroad,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  are  buried  in 
a  foreign  country.  "Ashwood  Hall"  was, 
indeed,  a  stately  home,  situated  in  a  grove  of 
one  hundred  acres,  dotted  with  sturdy  oaks. 
Two  large  halls  opened  into  each  other,  hung 
with  beautiful  paintings,  and  family  portraits. 

"Rattle  and  Snap"  was  the  home  of  George 
Polk.  The  grounds  were  won  under  peculiar 
circumstances.  My  grandfather  was  playing  a 
game  of  "beans"  with  the  Governor  of  North 
Carolina  and  some  others.  They  played  for 
"scrip,"  issued  to  them  as  Revolutionary  sol- 
diers. My  grandfather  won  the  game,  located 
the  land,  and  named  it  for  the  game  ' '  Rattle  and 
Snap."  It  was  in  middle  Tennessee,  then  called 
the  Territory  of  Franklin. 

"West  Brook"  belonged  to  Rufus  Polk,  and 
was  afterwards  the  home  of  my  brother,  General 
Lucius  Polk,  who  married  his  cousin  Sallie 
Moore,  the  only  child  of  Rufus  Polk. 

Some  of  these  homes  were  very  handsome, 
built  in  colonial  style,  pillars  on  front  porticoes, 
large  halls,  with  rooms  on  each  side,  wings  for 
billiard-rooms  and  libraries. 

There  were  beautiful  gardens  and  green- 
houses, the  lawns  in  front  were  extensive,  and 
dotted  with  oaks  for  which  Tennessee  was  so 
famed. 


80 

"Buena  Vista,"  my  father's  home,  afterwards 
mine,  no  longer  stands.  Recognizing  the  beauty 
of  its  location  and  surroundings  it  was  bought 
by  the  Government  for  an  arsenal  and  barracks, 
afterwards  converted  into  the  "Columbia  Mili- 
tary Academy."  Of  course,  the  old  gray  brick 
house  was  replaced  by  a  very  handsome  com- 
mandant's home.  I  was  glad  when  it  was  torn 
down,  such  a  reminder  of  the  happy  past,  of  the 
hospitality  and  the  kindness  which  had  charac- 
terized it.  They  who  had  made  it  were  gone, 
and  I  could  not  bear  to  look  at  it. 

Colonel  William  J.  Polk. 

Left  Queens  College,  North  Carolina,  when  he 
was  sixteen  years  old,  and  entered  the  army  as 
lieutenant  in  Colonel  Thompson's  (called  old 
"Dangerfield")  regiment.  He  was  detailed  by 
Colonel  Thompson  with  thirty  men  to  watch 
some  Tories  in  North  Carolina. 

He  was  led  into  an  ambush  by  his  guide,  one 
Solomon  Deason ;  Was  badly  wounded  in  the 
shoulder,  from  which  he  did  not  recover  in  a 
year.  "This  was  the  first  blood  shed  south  of 
Lexington,"  said  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson,  in  a 
letter  published  in  1844,  when  James  K.  Polk 
was  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency;  also  in  an 
autobiography  written  by  Colonel  Polk  for  Judge 
Murphy,  of  North  Carolina. 

General  Jackson  was  a  small  boy  at  school 
with  Colonel  Polk,  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 
They  were  life-long  friends  in  North  Carolina 
and  in  Tennessee. 


SI 

The  marriage  of  Colonel  Polk's  son,  Lueias,  to 
Mary  Eastin,  the  beautiful  niece  of  Mrs.  Jackson, 
which  took  place  at  the  "White  House,"  was 
pleasing  to  them  both. 

Col.  William  Polk's  record  is  certainly  a  bril- 
liant one.  He  entered  the  service  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  was  appointed  major  of  the  Ninth  North 
Carolina   Continental   Battalion  when   eighteen. 

At  one  time  he  followed  the  fortunes  of  Marion 
and  Sumpter,  and  was  aide  to  Carrol  at  Camden. 
At  Eutaw  his  horse  was  killed  under  him ;  at 
the  same  time  his  brother  fell.  At  Brandywine 
he  was  shot  through  the  shoulder,  and  at  Ger- 
mantown  through  the  mouth. 

It  was  referring  to  this  that  at  a  ball,  given  in 
Philadelphia  to  the  officers,  a  young  belle  in- 
quired, when  he  was  introduced  to  her:  "  Are 
you  the  young  officer  who,  it  is  said,  catches 
British  bullets  in  his  teeth?" 

He  was  appointed  in  the  United  States  army 
in  the  war  of  1812,  nominated  by  Madison  and 
confirmed  by  the  United  States  Senate,  but  on 
account  of  age  and  infirmities,  declined.  This 
honor  was  afterwards  conferred  on  Gen.  Andrew 
Jackson. 

He  was  Supervisor  of  the  Internal  Revenue  of 
North  Carolina,  a  position  which  he  held  for 
seventeen  years;  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
receive  General  Lafayette  in  Raleigh  in  1824 ; 
was  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati.  Will 
Polk,  of  Louisiana,  had  the  diploma,  which  was 
burned  in  a  fire  which  destroyed  Mr.  Polk 's  resi- 
dence, but  Col.  Cadwalader  Polk  has  the  certifi- 
cate of  membership. 


MRS.  JAMES  K.  POLK. 


83 

There  is  a  tradition,  I  do  not  know  if  true, 
but  it  seems  highly  probable,  that  Colonel  Polk 
suggested  the  name  of  Nashville,  and  Davidson 
County,  having  been  by  the  side  of  Nash  when 
he  was  killed,  and  also  with  Davidson,  when  he 
fell;  and  he  was  the  first  representative  of 
Davidson  County  to  the  North  Carolina  Legisla- 
ture. 

There  are  many  relics  of  interest  left  by 
Colonel  Polk ;  among  them  the  silver  spoons, 
used  at  a  breakfast  which  he  gave  to  General 
Washington.  There  is  also  a  mahogany  table, 
with  brass  claws,  which  can  seat  fifty,  used  at 
a  banquet,  given  in  Raleigh  to  Lafayette.  These 
are  in  the  family  of  William  Polk,  of  Louisiana, 
at  his  plantation,  "Ashton." 

A  miniature  of  Colonel  Polk,  beautifully 
painted,  and  set  with  brilliants,  is  owned  by 
William  Polk,  of  Tennessee.  He  was  said  to 
have  been  very  striking  in  his  appearance,  six 
feet  four  inches  in  height,  with  a  face  full  of 
dignity  and  command. 

The  Jones  Family. 

1680."     Robin  Jones,  "  The  Emigrant." 

Robin  Jones  the  second. 

Robin  Jones  the  third. 

— From  Isaac  Cobb's  Bible,  "His  Book,"  1703. 
Issue :     Sarah  Cobb. 

1737.     Robin  Jones  the  third  married  Sarah  Cobb. 
Issue : 

1.  Allen,  who  married  three  times, 

2.  Wyley,  married  Mary  Mumford. 

3.  Martha  Cobb,  married  Dr.  Thomas  Gilchrist. 
Robin  married  second  wife,   Mary   Eaton,   with   whom 

he  lived  unhappily.     He  said  in  his  will,  "  What  he  gave 


84 

her  in  lieu  of  dower  was  more  than  she  deserved."  Their 
only  child,  Elizabeth,  married  Benjamin  Williams,  Gov- 
ernor of  North  Carolina,  August,  1781. 

1762.     Allen  married  first  wife,  Mary  Haynes. 

Issue : 

Sarah,  married  Hon.  William  Davie,  United  States 
Minister  to  France. 

Martha  Cobb,  married  Judge  John  Sitgreaves. 

Mary,  married  General  Thomas  Eaton. 

September,  1768.  Allen  Jones  married  second  wife, 
Rebecca  Edwards. 

Issue : 

Rebecca  Jones,  married  Lunsford  Long. 

Issue  of  Rebecca  Jones  and  Lunsford  Long: 

Rebecca,  who  married  Col.  Cadwalader  Jones. 

Mary,  married  Dr.  William  Polk. 

Mrs.  Allen  Jones,  nee  Rebecca  Edwards,  was  remark- 
able for  her  great  beauty,  and  also  noted  for  the  beauty 
of  her  feet  and  high  instep. 

1776.     Wyley  Jones,  married  Mary  Mumford. 

Issue : 

Ann  Maria,  married  Joseph  Little  John. 

Sallie,  married  Governor  Burton,  of  North  Carolina. 

Patsey,  married  Hon.  John  W.  Eppes,  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

Issue  of  Ann  Maria  and  Joseph  Littlejohn: 

Mary,  who  married  Lewis  Williamson,  of  Tennessee. 

Sallie,  married  C.  C.  Cherry. 

Issue,  Lewis  Cherry,  a  banker  in  Little  Rock,  Arkansas. 

Third.  Martha  Cobb  Jones,  daughter  of  Robin,  mar- 
ried Thomas  Gilchrist. 

Issue : 

Grizelda  Gilchrist,  married  Col.  William  Polk. 

Allen,  married  Dolly  Lane,  granddaughter  of  Sir  Ralph 
Lane,  Colonial  Governor  of  North  Carolina. 

From  this  marriage  the  Baxters,  of  Nashville,  are 
descended. 

My  father,  through  his  mother,  Grizelda  Gilchrist,  was 
third  in  descent  from  Robin  Jones. 

My  mother,  through  her  mother,  Rebecca  Jones  Long, 
was  fourth  in  descent  from  Robin  Jones. 


85 

My  father,  Dr.  William  Polk,  and  my  mother, 
Mary  Rebecca  Long,  were  married  in  1818,  at 
"Mount  Gallant,"  Roanoke  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. 

This  estate,  "Mount  Gallant,"  was  left  by  my 
mother 's  grandfather,  Allen  Jones,  to  my  mother, 
his  favorite  grandchild.  It  was  a  grand  old 
home  for  that  period,  situated  on  the  Roanoke 
river,  with  two  fisheries  for  herring,  which  came 
up  the  river  from  the  sea.  An  orangery 
adjoined  the  house,  and  a  long  avenue  bordered 
with  trees  led  down  to  the  public  road. 

A  secret  chamber,  which  had  never  been  sus- 
pected, was  found  under  the  dining-room  floor, 
on  the  day  of  my  mother's  marriage  —  the  day 
when  she  took  possession  of  the  house,  which 
had  been  closed  for  many  years.  A  servant,  in 
scrubbing  the  floor,  found  that  it  sank  beneath 
her,  and  on  investigation,  a  trap  door  was  found 
and  a  room  completely  furnished  with  bed, 
chairs  and  table,  with  candle  on  it.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  constructed  as  a  hiding  place 
during  the  Revolution,  General  Allen  Jones 
being  a  very  prominent  person  at  that  time,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  by  the  Provincial  Congress 
one  of  the  five  brigadier-generals  from  North 
Carolina.  He  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  and 
large  wealth.  His  daughter,  Rebecca  Edwards 
Long,  having  died  at  the  birth  of  my  mother, 
she  and  her  sister,  Rebecca,  were  taken  to 
"Mount  Gallant,"  and  lived  with  him  until  his 
death. 

He  told  her  much  of  the  early  history  of  the 
Jones  family,  and  a  legend  of  the  first  Jones 


86 

who  came  to  America.  He  was  a  boatswain  on  a 
British  vessel  that  came  to  the  Colonies.  On 
the  return  trip,  when  far  out  at  sea,  he  leaped 
from  the  vessel,  swam  to  shore,  and  married  his 
sweetheart  there,  making  his  home  afterwards 
in  Suffolk  County,  Virginia. 

The  third  in  descent  from  him  was  Robin 
ap  Robin  Jones,  my  great-great-grandfather. 

Robin  ap  Robin  Jones. 

He  showed  in  his  youth  remarkable  talent, 
was  a  pupil  of  the  Reverend  Wyley,  rector  of  the 
church  in  Albemarle,  Sussex  County,  Virginia, 
from  1736-39.  Reverend  Wyley  wished  him  to 
have  educational  advantages  that  he  could  not 
give  him,  and  advanced  the  money  for  him  to  go 
to  England  to  be  educated  at  Eton. 

At  that  university  he  met  and  acquired  the 
friendship  of  Lord  Granville,  one  of  the  Lord 
proprietors,  whose  rule  in  the  Colonies  were  over- 
thrown later.  He  appointed  him  his  agent,  and 
afterwards,  in  1761,  Robin  was  appointed 
"Attorney  for  the  Crown,"  as  appears  in  a 
dispatch  from  Governor  Dobbs,  in  Rolls  Office, 
London : 

April  20,  1761.  "  The  Tusearoras  will  move  this  week 
from  Bertie  to  New  York.  Mr.  Jones,  the  Attorney- 
General,  advanced  $200  to  account  in  bringing  waggons 
and  provisions,  on  the  credit  of  their  land." 

The  colonial  records  of  North  Carolina  show 
that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly  1754-55. 
Author  of  the  bill  to  establish  a  Supreme  Court, 
and  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to  the 
Governor  on  grievances. 


He  was  a  remarkable  man  in  many  ways. 
There  was  a  lawsuit  to  be  tried  in  which  he  was 
deeply  interested.  The  trial  was  to  take  place 
on  the  same  day  surgeons  had  decided  that  an 
amputation  of  his  leg  was  necessary.  He  was 
suffering  from  gout  and  his  life  hung  in  the 
balance,  but  he  went  to  the  courthouse,  made  a 
great  speech,  which  gained  his  case,  the  ampu- 
tation of  the  limb  was  performed  two  hours 
afterwards,  and  he  died  under  the  operation. 

The  heroism  of  my  mother,  his  great-grand- 
daughter, was  quite  equal  to  this.  She  was 
nearly  ninety  years  old  and  blind ;  was  suf- 
fering with  such  pain  in  her  eyes  that  it  wTas 
decided  one  must  be  taken  out.  She  refused  to 
take  any  anesthetic,  as  she  wished  to  retain  con- 
sciousness in  case  of  death.  One  of  the  surgeons 
showed  great  feeling,  and  she  said  to  him,  "Do 
not  be  afraid,  I  do  not  dread  the  pain,  I  am 
ready,"  and  not  a  murmur  or  moan  was  heard. 

One  of  the  interesting  stories  my  mother  told 
me  was  of  an  early  experience  of  my  grand- 
father, Allen  Jones.  The  schools  were  very 
inferior  in  the  Colonies,  and  his  father,  Robin 
Jones,  wished  to  give  him  the  same  advantages 
that  had  been  bestowed  on  him,  so  Allen  and 
his  brother,  Wyley,  were  fitted  out  with  the  best 
the  Colony  could  afford,  and  sent  to  England. 
They  were  placed  at  the  Alma  Mater  of  their 
father,  Eton,  called  the  "nursery  of  the  gentle- 
men of  England."  Accordingly,  the  little  boys 
were  sent  to  Liverpool,  where  they  were  to  be 
met  and  placed  at  school,  under  the  charge  of 
Lord  Granville. 


When  the  vessel  landed,  and  they  went  on 
shore,  there  was  no  one  to  meet  them,  and  their 
singular  appearance  soon  drew  a  crowd.  They 
were  attired  in  blue  broadcloth  suits,  trimmed 
with  brass  buttons,  the  long  trousers,  coats  and 
long  vests  almost  to  their  knees,  like  very  diminu- 
tive men,  amused  the  crowd  very  much,  and  the 
frightened  children  were  much  relieved  when 
Lord  Granville's  housekeeper  arrived  and  put 
them  in  his  carriage. 

I  was  also  much  interested  in  my  mother's 
recital  of  the  visit  of  John  Paul  Jones  to  her 
grandfather,  which  was  not  many  years  before 
her  birth. 

John  Paul  Jones. 

He  went  to  Virginia  to  administer  upon  the 
estate  of  his  brother,  who  had  died  the  previous 
year,  1774.  Halifax  was  then  a  notable  and 
very  gay  place. 

It  so  happened  that  the  first  congress  of  the 
then  independent  State  of  North  Carolina  met 
there.  Paul  was  there  and  met  the  most  prom- 
inent men  among  them,  the  Jones  brothers, 
Allen  and  Wyley. 

They  were  very  much  pleased  with  his  bold, 
frank,  sailorlike  manner,  and  invited  him  to 
visit  them,  Allen  at  his  home,  "Mount  Gallant," 
and  Wyley  at  the  "Grove."  These  homes  were 
noted  for  their  hospitality,  and  John  Paul  not 
only  entered  with  zest  into  the  sports  of  the 
day,  but  was  much  impressed  with  the  political 
discussions  between  the  two  brothers,  their 
views  differing  entirely. 


89 

He  there  met  not  only  the  great  leaders  of  the 
day,  but  also  their  wives,  some  of  them  brilliant 
and  cultured,  their  conversation  elevating  and 
instructive.  He  had  access  at  their  homes  to  the 
finest  libraries,  and  to  their  halls,  where  hung 
pictures  from  England. 

He  remained  at  the  homes  of  these  two  brothers 
for  two  years,  and  had  the  good  fortune,  to  meet 
there  Joseph  Hewes,  of  Edenton,  who  was  a 
power  in  the  politics  of  the  time.  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  First  Provincial  Congress,  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Af- 
fairs. 

The  Jones  brothers  appealed  to  Hewes,  and 
through  his  instrumentality,  Congress  gave  to 
John  Paul  the  position  of  lieutenant  in  the  navy. 
It  was  said  that  the  brothers  also  assisted  him 
with  funds.  Before  this  John  Paul  had  changed 
his  name  to  Jones,  saying  to  the  brothers,  "He 
would  make  them  proud  of  it." 

This  compliment  was  intended  for  the  brothers, 
but  also  for  Mrs.  Wyley  Jones,  of  whom  he  was 
a  special  admirer. 

AVhy  John  Paul  added  Jones  to  his  name  has 
been  much  discussed  of  late. 

Mrs.  A.  L.  Robinson,  a  great-granddaughter 
of  Gen.  Allen  Jones,  published  not  long  since  an 
account  of  Paul's  friendship  with  Allen  and 
Wyley  Jones.  The  outline  of  his  life  is  briefly 
told.  John  Paul,  the  son  of.  a  gardener,  was 
born  July  6,  1747,  at  Arclingland,  Scotland.  At 
the  age  of  twelve  he  went  to  sea.  The  death  of 
his  brother  in  Virginia,  whose  heir  he  was,  in- 


91 

duced  him  to  settle  in  America.  This  was  in 
1773.  It  was  then  he  added  to  his  name,  and 
was  thenceforth  known  as  Paul  Jones.  This  was 
done  in  compliment  to  one  of  the  noted  states- 
men of  that  day.  It  appears  before  permanently 
settling'  in  Virginia,  moved  by  the  restlessness 
of  his  old  seafaring  life,  he  wandered  about  the 
country,  finally  settling  in  North  Carolina. 
There  he  became  acquainted  with  two  brothers, 
Wyley  and  Allen  Jones.  They  were  both  lead- 
ers in  their  day  and  were  much  honored  in  their 
generation. 

Allen  Jones  was  orator,  and  silver-tongued. 
Wyley  was  the  foremost  man  of  his  State.  The 
home  of  the  latter,  "Grove,"  near  Halifax,  was 
not  only  the  resort  of  the  cultured,  but  the  home 
of  the  homeless,  Mrs.  Wyley  Jones  having  some- 
times twenty  orphan  girls  under  her  charge.  It 
was  here  that  the  young  adventurer,  John  Paul, 
was  first  touched  by  those  gentler  influences, 
which  changed  not  only  his  name  but  himself, 
from  the  rough  and  reckless  mariner  into  the 
polished  man  of  society,  who  was  the  companion 
of  kings,  and  the  lion  and  pet  of  Parisian  salons. 
The  kindness  of  the  brothers  found  expression 
in  the  adoption  of  their  name.  The  truth  of  this 
statement  is  not  only  attested  by  the  descend- 
ants of  Allen  and  Wyley  Jones,  but  by  the 
nephew  and  representative  of  Paul  Jones,  Mr. 
Lowden,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  In  1816 
this  gentleman  was  in  Washington  awaiting  the 
passage  of  a  bill  by  Congress  awarding  him  the 
land  claim  of  his  uncle,  Paul  Jones,  which  had 
been  allowed  by  the  executive  of  Virginia,  Hon. 


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93 

E.  W.  Hubard,  then  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Virginia,  and  who  had  in  1844  prepared  a  report 
on  Virginia  land  claims,  in  which  the  committee 
endorsed  that  of  Paul  Jones.  This  naturally 
attracted  Mr.  Lowden  to  him,  and  learning  that 
Mrs.  Hubard  was  a  descendant  of  Wyley  Jones, 
he  repeated  to  both  Mr.  Hubard  and  Mrs. 
Hubard  the  cause  of  his  uncle's  change  in  name, 
and  added  that  among  his  pictures  hung  a  por- 
trait of  Allen  Jones. 

Mrs.  Ellet,  in  her  "Women  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," says,  "The  tone  of  public  opinion  in 
Halifax  was  very  much  influenced  by  three 
women,  who  were  rendered  prominent  by  the 
position  of  their  husbands,  and  by  their  own 
talents,  and  example.  They  were  Mrs.  Wylie 
Jones,  Mrs.  Allen  Jones  and  Mrs.  Nicholas  Long. 
Their  husbands  were  men  of  cultivated  minds, 
wealth  and  high  consideration,  having  great  in- 
fluence in  public  councils. 

The  importance  of  the  principles  for  which 
they  contended  was  vindicated  by  the  conversa- 
tion and  patriotic  zeal  of  their  wives  rather  than 
by  their  own  efforts  in  striking  appeals. 
Col.  Nicholas  Long. 

Col.  Nicholas  Long  was  commissary-general  of 
all  the  forces  raised  in  North  Carolina,  and 
superintended  the  preparation  (in  his  own  work- 
shop, on  his  own  premises)  of  implements  of  war 
and  clothing  for  the  soldiers.  His  wife  was  a 
most  efficient  cooperator;  she  possessed  great 
energy  and  firmness,  with  mental  power  of  no 
common  order.  Her  praises  were  the  theme  of 
conversation  among  the  old  officers  of  the  army. 


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95 

She  died  at  about  ninety  years  of  age.  Her 
maiden  name  was  McKinnie  —  Mary  McKinnie. 

Mrs.  Allen  Jones  was  Miss  Edwards,  sister 
of  Isaac  Edwards,  English  secretary  of  Gov- 
ernor Tryon. 

She  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  most 
accomplished  woman  of  the  day,  and  was 
remarkable  for  the  elegance  and  taste  shown  in 
all  of  her  arrangements.  She  left  an  only 
daughter,  Rebecca,  who  married  Lunsford  Long. 

There  is  a  punch-bowl  in  the  museum  at 
Washington's  headquarters  at  Morristown,  New 
Jersey,  with  this  inscription  on  the  card:  "A 
punch-bowl  owned  by  General  Washington.  It 
was  given  to  him  by  Mrs.  Allen  Jones,  of  North 
Carolina. ' '  It  was  highly  prized  by  him,  and 
preserved  in  the  family  for  four  generations  — 
it  was  cracked  when  hiding  it  from  Tarleton's 
men. 

When  the  army  of  Cornwallis  passed  through 
Halifax  to  Virginia,  his  officers  were  quartered 
in  the  town.  Colonel  Tarleton  was  quartered  at 
the  "Grove."  He  had  been  wounded  at  Cow- 
pens,  in  the  hand,  a  sabre  cut  from  Col.  William 
Washington. 

In  speaking  of  Colonel  Washington,  Tarleton 
said:  "He  Avas  an  ignorant,  illiterate  fellow, 
scarcely  able  to  write  his  name."  "Ah,  colonel," 
said  Mrs.  Jones,  "you  should  know  better,  for 
you  bear  upon  your  person  proof  that  he  can 
make  his  mark." 

These  incidents  in  regard  to  John  Paul  Jones, 
which  I  gathered  from  my  mother's  lips,  are 
corroborated   by  many   authorities  —  one,    Fred 


•^-  A'SL^ 


MB 


97 

A.  Olds,  of  Raleigh,  North  Carolina ;  another, 
Cyrus  Townsend,  author  of  a  "Life  of  Paul 
Jones,"  in  a  very  conclusive  article  of  July  24, 
in  Munsey's  Magazine.  In  a  genealogical  history, 
by  Col.  Cadawalader  Jones,  of  South  Carolina,  I 
see  the  same  facts  given  by  him  as  I  relate  hav- 
ing heard  from  my  mother.  We  are  both 
descendants  of  the  two  grandchildren,  who  lived 
with  Gen.  Allen  Jones. 

Neither  Allen  Jones  nor  his  brother  Wylie 
left  any  male  descendant.  Consequently,  we 
have  no  relatives  who  bear  the  name  of  Jones, 
through  Robin,  but  through  the  marriage  of  his 
great-granddaughter,  Rebecca  Jones  Long,  to 
Maj.  Cadwalader  Jones,  they  bear  the  name  of 
Jones.  Wylie  had  a  son  who  died  very  young 
from  gout  in  his  head,  which  it  seems  he  must 
have  inherited  from  "old  Robin." 

General  Allen  also  had  a  son,  who  died  at  the 
early  age  of  eight.  Governor  Iredell,  of  North 
Carolina,  in  a  letter  published  in  a  volume  —  I 
think  it  is  called  "Recollections  of  Eminent 
North  Carolinians"  —  writes  that  while  on  a 
visit  to  Gen.  Allen  Jones,  at  "Mount  Gallant," 
he  was  seated  on  the  porch  when  General  Jones' 
little  son,  who  was  playing  on  the  gallery,  com- 
menced screaming,  with  his  hand  upon  his  head. 
He  suffered  very  much,  and  died  in  two  hours. 
I  have  a  miniature  of  this  boy,  a  beautiful  thing, 
intended  to  be  worn  with  a  black  velvet  as  a 
bracelet.  On  the  gold  back  of  the  locket  is  this 
inscription:  "Robin  Jones,  1778.  Died  aged 
eight.  Too  soon  did  heaven  assert  its  claim,  and 
called  its  own  away." 


98 

This,  and  some  other  relics,  which  my  mother 
gave  me,  I  very  much  prize.  One  is  a  gown, 
worn  by  an  ancestress  during  the  Revolution.  It 
is  of  heavy  brocade,  with  pink  and  white  roses. 
The  gored  skirt  is  as  narrow  as  the  hobble  skirts 
of  to-day.  It  is  trimmed  with  exquisite  lace, 
"Point  de  Venise,"  which  hangs  in  tatters. 

I  have  also  a  chair  cover,  blue,  and  embroid- 
ered with  the  first  cotton  brought  to  North  Caro- 
lina, the  work  of  Mrs.  Allen  Jones. 

The  portrait  of  Robin  Jones  was  given  to  Mrs. 
Eppes,  of  Virginia,  his  granddaughter,  and  is 
now  at  the  residence  of  Colonel  Hubard,  M.C., 
who  married  Mrs.  Eppes'  daughter. 


The  Long  Family. 

Col.  Nicholas  Long,  founder  of  the  Long  fam- 
ily in  Halifax,  was  in  his  day  one  of  the  most 
important  men  on  the  Roanoke ;  he  was  a 
wealthy  planter.  His  residence  "Quankey, " 
near  that  old  borough,  bad  more  than  a  State 
reputation ;  it  was  the  headquarters  of  military 
affairs. 

When  General  Washington  visited  the  Caro- 
linas,  he  and  his  staff  stopped  with  Colonel  Long 
for  several  days.  Colonel  Long  came  to  North 
Carolina  about  1750  from  eastern  Virginia.  He 
had  a  daughter,  Lucy,  who  married  William  H. 
Battle,  Assistant  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  North  Carolina.  Their  son,  Kemp  Plummer 
Battle,  was  formerly  president  of  the  University 
of  North  Carolina. 

Col.  Nicholas  Long  married  Mary  McKinnie, 


99 

daughter  of  John  McKinnie,  in  August,  1761.  It 
appears  from  a  deed,  dated  1751,  that  John 
McKinnie  had  four  children :  Mary,  Patience, 
Barnaby  and  Martha. 

Nicholas  Long,  the  oldest  son  of  Nicholas 
Long  and  Mary  McKinnie,  was  a  gallant  soldier 
in  the  Revolution.  ■  He  and  Major  Hogg  had  the 
celebrated  race  after  Tarleton  with  Colonel 
Washington.  It  is  related  of  him  that  two  Brit- 
ish cavalrymen  pursued  him.  He  wheeled  and 
sought  safety  in  flight;  they  opened  fire  and  in 
the  hot  pursuit  were  separated.  Observing  this, 
he  suddenly  turned  and  dispatched  both  with 
his  sabre.  He  married  Rebecca  Hill  in  1778  and 
moved  to  Georgia. 

Mary  Long  married  Bassett  Stith,  Virginia, 
1790.  McKee,  in  his  "Life  of  Judge  Iredell," 
says,  "Thomas  Iredell  visited  Halifax  in  July, 
1790.  A  letter  from  him  gives  a  characteristic 
account  of  the  gay  and  opulent  borough. "  "  The 
divine  Miss  Polly  Long"  had  just  been  married 
to  Basset  Stith,  a  Virginia  beau.  The  nuptials 
were  celebrated  by  twenty-two  consecutive  din- 
ner parties  in  as  many  different  houses ;  the 
dinner  being  regularly  succeeded  by  dances,  and 
all  terminated  by  a  grand  ball.  Miss  Wallace, 
an  heiress,  Miss  Lucas,  and  Miss  Hooper  were 
the  belles  of  the  occasion. 

Lunsford  Long,  another  son,  married  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  Gen.  Allen  Jones,  1794.  They  had 
two  daughters :  Rebecca,  who  married  Col.  Cad- 
walader  Jones  (the  same  name,  but  different 
family),  and  my  mother,  Mary,  who  married  Dr. 
William  Polk. 


100 

"Quankey"  the  home  of  the  Longs,  on 
Quankey  creek,  was  well  known  as  a  seat  of 
great  hospitality,  and  as  it  was  a  large  and 
delightful  home,  Mrs.  Long  continued  to  reside 
in  it  after  the  death  of  her  husband.  She  was 
left  there  alone,  her  children  having  all  married 
and  moved  away  with  their  families,  so  she  was 
pleased  to  take  charge  of  a  young  lady,  pre- 
sumably a  relative,  a  sister  of  Sir  Peyton  Skip- 
with,  named  Miss  Richmond.  This  Miss  Rich- 
mond afterwards  married  Lemuel  Long. 

Mrs.  Long  was  noted  for  her  benevolence.  She 
took  for  charity  several  of  the  poor  young  girls 
of  the  neighborhood  to  teach  them  to  spin  and 
embroider  and  the  accomplishments  of  the  day. 

The  Haunted  House. 
The  story  that  is  told,  and  which  is  well  known 
by  all  in  that  section,  was  this :  "As  the  old 
lady  sat  one  night  with  her  distaff  before  her, 
surrounded  by  her  girls,  they  were  startled  by 
the  fall  seemingly  of  an  immense  wardrobe, 
which  was  in  the  apartment  above.  Mrs.  Long, 
carrying  a  candle  in  her  hand,  and  each  girl 
bearing  a  light,  proceeded  up  the  long  stairway 
to  investigate  —  but  not  an  article  out  of  its 
place,  and  not  a  human  being  in  the  house  but 
themselves.  After  this  each  night  the  same 
unaccountable  noises  were  heard.  Everything 
was  done  to  put  an  end  to  these  sounds.  At  one 
time  it  was  thought  it  might  proceed  from  the 
cellar,  where  empty  wine  casks  had  stood,  and 
their  iron  hoops  hung  upon  the  wall.  Then  a 
large  tree  was  cut  down,  that  overhung  the 
house,    but    all   in    vain.      When    the    old    lady 


loi 

breathed  her  last,  it  was  said  by  those  who  sur- 
rounded her,  that  a  long  wailing  cry  was  heard. 

After  Mrs.  Long's  death  some  member  of  the 
family  continued  to  reside  in  the  house,  until  at 
last  worn  out  with  trying  to  ferret  the  mystery, 
it  was  sold  and  went  into  other  hands. 

Fifty  years  after  this  occurrence  I  left  my 
home  in  Tennessee  to  visit  relatives  in  North 
Carolina.  As  I  passed  over  the  bridge  at 
' '  Quankey  creek, ' '  I  asked  the  conductor  to  point 
out  to  me  the  old  home.  "I  can  show  you  the 
site,"  he  said,  "but  the  house  was  torn  down 
long  ago.  One  person  after  another  tried  to 
live  in  it,  but  left  frightened,  so  after  being  left 
vacant  for  some  years,  it  was  torn  down." 

And  so  ended  the  weird  experiences  of  the 
haunted  house. 

Mrs.  Long  ended  her  long  and  eventful  life 
in  her  ninetieth  year,  and  was  buried  in  the 
family  graveyard  at  "Quankey." 

Of  the  lovely  old  couple  of  whom  I  will  now 
write  I  feel  it  to  be  a  pious  duty,  my  father  and 
my  mother. 

Dr.  William  Polk. 

Dr.  William  Polk,  my  father,  married  my  mother, 
Mary  Eebecca  Long,  at  Mt.  Gallant,  North  Carolina, 
about  1818. 

Afterwards  moved  to  Buena-Vista,  Tennessee,  in  1834. 

Issue : 

1.  Grizekla  Gilchrist,  married  Eussel  Houston,  Chief 
Attorney  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Eailroad  for 
fifty  years. 

2.  Allan  Jones,  married  first,  Mary  Clendenin;  sec- 
ond, Anna  Clark  Fitzhugh. 

3.  Thomas  Gilchrist,  married  Lavinia  Wood. 


102 

4.  Mary  Jones,  married  Joseph  Branch. 

5.  Lucius  Eugene,  married  Sallie  Polk  (his  cousin). 

6.  Cadwalader,  married  Carrie  Lowry. 

7.  Rufus  Julias,  married  Cynthia  Martin. 

1.  Issue  of  Grizelda  and  Russel  Houston: 
Allen,  married  Mattie  Belle  Shreve,  of  Louisville. 
Lucia,  married  George  Hull,  of  New  York  (her  daugh- 
ter, Grizelda,  married  Richard  Pierson  Hobson). 

Elise,  married  Theodore  Presser,  of  Philadelphia. 

2.  Issue  of  Allen  and  first  wife,  Mary  Clendenin : 
Mary  Polk,  married  Frank  Hemphill,  of  Alabama. 
Issue  of  Allen  and  second  wife,  Anna  Fitzhugh : 

1.  Susan,  married  Woodie  Kessee,  of  Helena,  Arkan- 
sas. 

2.  Anna  Lee,  married  Sam  Pepper,  of  Memphis. 

3.  Grizelda,  married  Thompson  Hargreves,  of  Helena, 
Arkansas. 

4.  Robin  Jones. 

3.  Thomas,  married  Lavinia  Wood. 
Issue : 

Mary,  married  Willie  Littlejohn. 
Caroline,  married  Ham  Horner. 
Zell,  married  Joe  Sterling. 

4.  Mary  Jones  married  Joseph  Branch. 
Issue : 

Mary  Polk,  married  Dr.  Chas.  W.  Winn. 
Lawrence  Branch. 
Mary  Polk. 

Lawrence,  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

Lucia,    married   Mr.    John    William    Howard,    of   Ten- 
nessee. 
Issue : 

Gerald  Howard. 
Lawrence  Branch. 
Joseph  Gerald  Branch,  of  Chicago,  Illinois. 

5.  Lucius,  married  Sallie  Moore  Polk. 
Issue : 

Rufus,  Member  of  Congress,  from  Pennsylvania,  mar- 
ried Isabel  Greer. 

Rebecca,  married  Scot  Harlan. 
William  Julius,  married  Willie  Glass. 


103 

Lucius  . 

James  Knox. 

6.  Cadwalader,  married  Carrie  Lowry. 
Issue : 

William,  married  Lula  Donnell. 
Annie,  married  Chris  Agee. 
Cadwalader,  married  Lucile  Greenfield. 
Nina,  married  Will  Coolidge. 
Edmund,  married  Miss  Wood. 

7.  Rufus,  married  Cynthia  Martin. 
Issue : 

Eugene,  Little  Rock,  Arkansas. 

Rufus. 

William  Julius,  married  Sarah  Chambers. 

Charles,  married  Nannie  Lee. 

Four  of  these  sons  were  soldiers  in  the  Civil 
War:  Thomas  Gilchrist,  an  aide  to  General 
Tappan;  Gen.  Lucius  Eugene,  of  whom  I  shall 
write  later;  Colonel  Cadwalader,  who  was  first 
with  Jackson  in  Virginia,  afterwards  in  the 
western  army  under  General  Price;  promoted 
for  gallantry  from  second  lieutenant  to  colonel. 
At  the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove  he  was  left  for 
dead  on  the  field,  taken  to  the  Federal  Hospital, 
and  a  month  afterwards  liberated  in  an  exchange 
of  prisoners.  Capt.  Rufus  Julius,  of  whom  Sam 
Watkins  speaks  in  his  book  "Company  H,"  as 
being  "beautiful  as  a  girl,"  was  a  prisoner  on 
his  eighteenth  birthday  at  Johnson's  Island.  He 
was  in  the  last  skirmish  of  the  war  in  Alabama. 

St.  John's  Church. 

Although  most  of  these  homes  of  the  Polks 
have  been  burned,  or  passed  into  other  hands, 
there  still  stands  sacred  to  memories  of  the  past 
St.  John's  Church.     It  was  built  in  1837  by  the 


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105 

Polk  brothers,  the  site  given  by  Andrew  (the 
youngest),  the  font  by  their  sister,  the  handsome 
gate  at  a  later  period  by  Van  Leer  Polk.  It  is 
called  "the  most  historic  church  in  Tennessee." 
During  the  Civil  War  it  was  used  alternately  as 
a  hospital  by  the  conflicting  armies,  whichever 
was  in  control  at  the  time. 

The  church  was  much  mutilated  by  the  troops 
under  Buell  as  they  passed  down  the  pike  in 
front  of  it  to  reinforce  Grant  at  Shiloh.  They 
broke  the  bell  and  the  window  glasses,  hacked 
the  organ,  blowing  the  pipes  as  they  marched, 
and  taking  the  beautifully  embroidered  altar 
cloths  as  saddle-blankets.  The  portraits  of 
Bishops  Polk  and  Otey,  which  were  in  the  vestry 
room,  had  been  moved,  fortunately,  to  the 
Columbia  Institute  for  safe-keeping. 

The  church  from  time  to  time  has  been  opened 
for  services  since  the  War,  but  is  usually  closed. 
The  Polk  family,  most  of  whom  live  in  different 
States,  send  funds  to  keep  it  in  repair.  It  is  to 
Col.  Harry  Yeatman,  however,  that  they  are 
chiefly  indebted  for  its  care.  He  was  an  officer 
on  Gen.  Leonidas  Polk's  staff,  and  married  his 
niece,  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Lucius  Polk, 
Sr.,  and  lived  at  "Hamilton  Place"  for  many 
years,  until  his  tragic  death  two  weeks  ago. 

What  different  scenes  have  been  enacted  in 
this  old  church !  In  earlier  days  brides  in  their 
white  attire  stood  before  its  altar,  and  infants 
were  brought  to  be  christened  at  the  font.  There 
came  a  later  day  when  soldiers  fought  around  its 
walls,  and  the  dead  and  dying  were  piled  upon 
its  floor. 


106 

Among  the  dead  who  were  buried  there  were 
Generals  Cleburne,  Stahl  and  Granberry,  and 
at  a  later  day,  Gen.  Lucius  Eugene  Polk,  who 
never  recovered  from  the  wounds  he  received 
during  the  war.  Generations  of  those  who  died 
earlier  are  buried  there  —  representatives  of  the 
old-time  South.  The  ideal  Southern  gentleman, 
with  his  courtesy  and  chivalry,  the  gracious 
gray-haired  matron,  their  surroundings  as  well 
as  their  heredity  developed  their  characteristics 
of  loyalty,  truthfulness,  courtesy  and  courage. 

Other  graves  are  there  which  also  tell  a  story 
of  the  past.  It  is  of  another  race  who  were  born 
slaves.  Between  them  and  their  owners  was  an 
inherited  bond  of  affection  —  responsibility  on 
the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  of  service  and 
faithfulness. 

Mammy  Sue. 

I  recall  among  these  graves  a  monument 
which  bears  this  inscription :  ' '  Sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Mammy  Sue,  the  faithful  nurse  of 
George  and  Sallie  Polk's  eight  children." 

In  the  morning  the  services  in  the  church  were 
for  the  masters,  in  the  afternoon  their  daughters 
taught  the  children  of  the  other  race,  and  all 
knelt  together  in  prayer. 

In  the  cemetery  are  two  white  monuments 
exactly  alike.  My  father,  on  his  deathbed,  believ- 
ing the  separation  from  his  beloved  wife  to  be 
very  brief,  ordered  them,  but  my  mother's  was 
not  put  in  place  until  her  death  twenty  years 
afterward. 

This   church   of   many  memories  stands   in   a 


107 

cemetery  of  seven  or  eight  acres,  surrounded  by 
a  stone  wall. 

The  large  oak  trees  and  the  carpet  of  blue 
grass  make  it  a  lovely  spot,  but  the  doors  of  the 
church  are  closed,  the  windows  unopened,  the 
iron  gate  in  front  locked.  Sometimes  a  long  pro- 
cession winds  through  it,  as  the  body  of  one  who 
has  passed  away  in  some  far-off  State  is  borne, 
to  be  laid  to  rest  beside  his  forefathers. 

But  in  the  distance  is  heard  the  sound  of  the 
automobile  and  the  roll  of  heavy  wagons  upon 
the  pike,  and  we  realize  the  brightness  of  the 
world  without  and  the  busy  life  which  surrounds 
the  old  church  with  its  story  of  the  past. 

THE  END. 


